Another Chance
by PsychoRien
Summary: Luffy died in the War Of The Best at Marineford. It's been a year now and the Whitebeard Pirates spot an island out in the New World. What happens when Ace finds an abandoned little boy in the forest? What happens when that little boy isn't a stranger at all, but someone who should have died a year ago? Inspired by A Pirates Resolve by Anjelle. No pairings. Chapter 12 is up!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! New story! Woo woo! **

**So, if you haven't read the summary, this is just a little story I pulled out of nowhere. Actually, it was inspired by a story called A Pirate's Resolve by Anjelle. It's a great story so go read it! I also got inspired awhile ago when I read Unexpected Emergencies by Blueh. Also a great story, check it out. When I read A Pirates Resolve I thought, "Oh. This is like my idea, except flipped." Somehow, whenever I come up with an idea, I find a story that like it, if not, the same as my idea. Sigh. SO, I'm just gonna write this thing and you can tell me if you like it or not, okay?**

**Disclaimer: If you think I own One Piece, you're not a very smart cookie, ain't 'cha? Actually, cookies don't have brains which means that they can't really be smart or have any intelligence in any way, right?**

**Oh, yeah. I'm make Thatch alive in this thing, because I freaking LOVE Thatch, okay? I don't care if I bend canon! Well, actually, this entire story bends canon because Luffy's dead... ah, whatever. Thatch is staying! He not going anywhere! **

**Well, enough of me being a smart ass.**

**ONWARD!**

* * *

The soft sea breeze blew across the ocean. The sky was beautiful. Not a single cloud in the sky, the sun shined upon the water, bouncing back glaring rays of light. It was peaceful. And quiet. And it was nice.

Ace looked out to the sea on the Moby Dick. The crew was as crazy as ever. All doing something interesting. There was no where that was boring, except where Ace was standing. It has been two years since the War Of The Best and… well… Luffy's death. Ace hated to remember. It was the only moment of his life that he truly regretted.

* * *

_Ace jumped in front of Luffy. Akainu was about to thrust his fist forward. He knew he was going to die. It was natural. He was a pirate, pirate die sooner or later, no matter how strong they were. He excepted his death. Luffy had to live. Luffy was going to be Pirate King. That was a fact that couldn't be changed. He only wished that he could see his little brother achieve that outrageous dream of his. _

_Then a hand reached out. And pushed him. It pushed him away from the fist. And, onto the ground. _

_A flash of yellow appeared before him. _

_Then came the dread…_

"_Lu...ffy." Ace couldn't believe what he was seeing. His little brother. His ONLY little brother stood before him. A magma fist right through his chest. Ace froze. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't happening. His little brother. His precious little brother. Why?_

_Luffy's legs gave out and he fell onto his knees, coughing out clots of blood. "It was better than you."_

_Ace stared at his in disbelief. No. Nonononono. Luffy was _his _little brother. His light wouldn't burn out now. Not now. _

_Akainu rigorously pulled out the fist without a care, causing more blood to spill out. Luffy's energy vanished and his whole entire body leaned forward, and fell. Ace caught him. His shaky hands overlapped the gaping wound that was just inflicted. "Why?"_

"_It's better than you." Was Luffy's immediate answer. "Beside, I came here to save you. Not see you die."_

_Ace could feel the tears well up in his eyes, threatening to spill at any moment. "You idiot. You can't just do something like that."_

_Luffy smiled softly. "Sorry, Ace." But, he didn't sound sorry at all. He sounded happy. "Can you tell my crew that I said thank you?... And, can you tell them not to be sad. I hate it when they're sad because of me."_

_Ace's breaths shook. Luffy wasn't going to die. He wasn't. "Luffy, you can't…"_

"_And, could you give my hat back to Shanks for me?" Luffy continued. "And…" Ace felt tears spill onto his shoulder. "And, and… make sure you're happy too, okay?" Luffy stopped crying. He smiled brighter than he had ever did. "Thanks, Ace. Bye."_

"_Luffy?" Luffy's body went limp. _

"_Luffy!"_

* * *

Ace shook his head to clear out all the memories. He sighed. They had barely made it away before Akainu tried to fry their ship. Luckily, some god or angel was on their side and they made it away safely. After that, Ace kept his promises. When he found Luffy's crew and told then the news they all broke down. Even Zoro. Usopp had grabbed his shoulders and shook him like a madman, shouting at him to tell them it was all a lie. Ace could bare to see Luffy's crew like this. The strong crew that he met before, shattered into pieces.

* * *

_Ace stood in front of the shattered crew. Tears poured out of their eyes. Ace's heart cracked. The Straw Hats. The strong crew that he knew, had lost all the confidence they ever have in a few second._

_Usopp grabbed his shoulder and shook him. "Ace! Tell me that this is all a joke! Luffy isn't dead! Luffy can't be dead! Luffy's the man that will be Pirate King! He can't die without fulfilling his dream! THIS CAN'T BE RIGHT!"_

_Ace stared at the crying sniper for a moment. _

"_Usopp." Nami whispered._

_Usopp's legs gave out and he fell onto his knees, crying. "He can't be dead. He can't."_

_Nami hugged Robin, who didn't even try to wipe away her tears. She never cried. But, she could cry for her Captain. _

_Chopper clinged onto Zoro's leg. The little reindeer's tears drenched Zoro's pant leg in seconds. The swordsman himself, was sitting on the ground, knees bent up. His hand covered his eyes as tears flowed through them. He wasn't crying as much as the rest, but he cried a lot. Sanji lifted a cigarette to his mouth. His eyes were shadowed by his hair, but Ace could see all the tears that flowed down his face. The cook's hand held a lighter, which he couldn't get lit because of his shaky hands. Franky, who he had just met, along with Robin and Brook, was crying more than a baby did all together. Tears flowed down down his face like two waterfalls that never stopped. Brook cried like the rest did. Even though he hadn't known Luffy as long as the rest._

_Ace watched for awhile until the crew started to get a hang of themselves. There was still some sniffling here and there, but the worst of the storm was over. As they wiped their eyes, they all got up and looked at each other. _

_Zoro was the first to speak. "Luffy wouldn't want to see us like this. We need to stay strong and keep going. We can't just abandon our dreams along with him. He wouldn't want that."_

_Usopp ball up his hand into fists, at his sides. "Zoro's right. We can't quit now. Luffy everything for us, to fufill our dreams. We can't just throw that all away now!"_

_Nami nodded. "Right. We need to keep going!"_

_Sanji took the cigar out of his mouth. "For that shitty captain's sake!"_

_Choppers high pitched voice joined in. "Luffy gave everything for us! The least we can do is keep sailing, for him!"_

_Robin dipped her head. "Yes. We should keep going after our dreams, as Luffy would want."_

"_Suuuuuuuuuuper idea!" Franky shouted. "Luffy-bro would be happy!"_

"_Luffy-san will always be in our memories." Brook added._

_Zoro pump his fist into the air. "To the One Piece! In honor of our captain!"_

_They rest of the crew did the same. "AYE!"_

_Ace smiled softly. "You have an amazing crew, Luffy."_

* * *

After that, Ace heard that the Straw Hats were still sailing as proud pirates. They took Luffy's hopes and dreams with them and kept searching for the One Piece. They were more determined than ever to fufill all their dreams, for Luffy's sake. Ace mentally congratulated Luffy for having a crew with such a strong will. He heard that they might even poses a serious threat to _anyone_ which made Ace smile. He imagined Luffy laughing about how his crew was the best.

When Ace found Shanks and hand the straw hat to him, Shanks gently pushed it away with his arm and said that it wasn't his anymore. Luffy deserved it.

* * *

"_Akagami." Ace stood in front of the red haired pirate, straw hat at his side. "I'm Portgas D. Ace."_

_Shanks look up from his seat. "Ah, you're one of Whitebeard's brats, correct?"_

_Ace nodded. "I'm here to return something to you."_

_Shanks lifted an eyebrow as Ace held out the straw hat. The yonko chuckled and pushed it back, which surprised Ace. "I thought that kid would want to return it to me." He smiled. "Tell Luffy that he doesn't have to return it. He deserves it."_

* * *

Ace chuckled a bit, imagining his little brother pouting about it. He could tell that Shanks was more than okay about rejecting his treasure. Ace had thanked the yonko for everything he has done for Luffy.

Five days ago, when Ace had visited Luffy's grave, he had a long talk with his deceased brother. His little brother's graved was placed on a huge cliff that overlooked the ocean of the Grand Line. Ace knew that Luffy would love it. At home in the East Blue, Ace and Luffy would always sit on a cliff and look out to the sea. Luffy's grave was huge. Maybe, even just a few inches smaller than Oyaji's. It was decorated with hundreds of orange, yellow, red, and white flowers. His name, in printed in huge letters for the world to see. His signature straw hat lied on top of the grave stone. His flag stood tall, on top of the stone as well. It blew with the breeze, strong, passionate.

* * *

"_Hey little bro." Ace looked up at the grave. "It been awhile, right?" He sat down. A bottle of sake in his hand. The straw hat in his other. "Sorry about the long wait. Commander duties, you know?" Ace set the bottle of sake and the straw hat down. "I told your crew about you. They cried a lot. Sorry about that." Ace smiled, imagining his little brother pouting and scolding him. "But, they're really amazing. They kept going and they're probably near finding the One Piece. They have one of the highest bounties in the New World. They pose a threat to anyone by now." Luffy would have laughed at that. "Hey, and Shanks said to keep the hat. He said you deserved it." He grabbed the straw hat and bottle of sake, and stood up. He jumped up onto the grave and place the hat gently on top, next to the flag. He pulled the cork out of the bottle in his hand and tipped it over. The sake spilled onto the gravestone. "Remember when we became brothers? You, Sabo, and I stole some of Dadan's sake and drank it. It was probably one of the happiest moments of my life." As the sake drained out, Ace placed the bottle on the stone. "I have to go now, Luffy. Marco and the others are waiting for me." Ace jumped off the stone and started away from the cliff. Taking one more glance at the grave, he smiled. "Don't go anywhere, stupid little brother."_

* * *

"Oi! Ace!" Ace turned around to see that Thatch was calling him. "There's an island up ahead! Marco wants us to come with him, to check it out!"

Ace turned his body away from the railing. "Sure! Coming!"

* * *

**Cliffy? Yep, I think. Well, it's not one of those torturing cliffies, so be happy. I usually don't want to torture my readers so I don't make my cliffhangers so evil. But, I can if you want. *Evil grin* Anyway, review or something and…**

**BYE!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I'm back! WOO HOO!**

**Response to:**

**Guest: Glad you liked it. I'm not very good at touchy parts, so I'm happy I improved on it. Yes, Luffy sacrificed himself… Sigh. I'm pretty sure it took me ages to write his death, because I'm terrible at them.**

**ggtherescuer: Here's the next chapter! Happy?**

**Passerby 86 (Guest 2): You're not serious… right? You are?! Wow! I so happy! Anjelle IS awesome! I really love her stories. A Pirate's Resolve. Badass. I'm glad I made the right story for you! Glad you liked the Strawhat Pirates scene. It was my first **_**true**_ **time writing a sad scene with tears and angst. I also thought that the crew would disband and I was about to do that. BUT! I slapped myself really hard and thought about how if they even thought of not trying to chase their dreams, Luffy would come down and kick all their asses onto the ship, raise the anchor, untie the sail, and kick the ship away from the harbor. Seriously, Luffy would really hate to if they stopped chasing their dreams because of him XD And, Zoro as first mate, can't just leave his captain's work unfinished. That's my thoughts anyway… As for the grave, I really like the grave, too. I don't know why. I just like it. AS FOR SHANKS! Thankyouthankyouthankyou! You have no idea **_**how**_ **much that means to me! I was never good at writing Shanks. I don't know why, but I'm happy that I got somewhat better at it. At some point in time… Thanks and good luck to you as a writer! I'm serious.**

**Otaku-chan (Guest 3): Are you trying to threaten me? Well, I'd better hide before you shoot that pistol. (10 hours later) Okay, I'm safe now. Anyway, uh...here's the next chapter… so, um... please don't shoot that thing…hehe.**

**Ace Portgas D: The update is here!**

**little missy (Guest 4): I tried my best at the death, so glad you liked it. As for Sabo…. it's a secret.**

**anime lover (Guest 5): We'll see what happens…**

**xxXxx (Guest 6): Yes, yes. I know. That's why I try to not do as much cliffies.**

**Gosh! That was only the first chapter and you guys already like it so much! THANK YOU! Thanks to everyone who favorited and followed!**

**Anyway… **

**ONWARD!**

* * *

"Oi! Ace!" Ace turned around to see that Thatch was calling him. "There's an island up ahead! Marco wants us to come with him, to check it out!"

Ace turned his body away from the railing. "Sure! Coming!" He ran over to the 4th division Commander. If Marco wanted the two of them to come along, it was probably a seriously weird island or something. As Ace approached Thatch he waved. "What's the big _mysterious_ island?"

Thatch had a playful gleam in his eye. "That one, over there." Thatch pointed to his right. Ace walked over to the railing and bent over a little bit to get a better look. It was an average little island. There were a few beachy areas. The rest of the island was covered in undergrowth. Trees of all heights stood proudly on the island. The sun seemed to hit the island at a certain angle. The whole island was glowing a vibrant yellow.

"It looks like a pretty normal jungle island to me." Ace commented. "I don't see anything wrong with it."

"That's what I said, too." Thatch crossed his arms "But, Marco insisted that we go."

Ace lifted an eyebrow. "Okay~ But, I still don't see the big deal."

Thatch just shrugged. "Maybe he's just being too cautious."

Ace had to agree on that one. Ever since the War Of The Best, Marco liked to keep the family close together. He wouldn't risk losing anyone. "Well, let's go then."

* * *

"I swear! These plants are out to get me!" Thatch exclaimed, pushing away a huge leaf.

Ace had to agree. The plants in the forest were massive. It was almost like they were trapped in a cage of leaves and vines. It wasn't the most "welcoming" forest either. It was mostly dark, with a few areas where light made its way through the thick undergrowth. Ace was pretty sure he couldn't even see his own hands. He kept his fire lit, or else he would have fell off a cliff a long time ago. A thorn scratched Thatch on the leg and the Commander jumped up, and onto Ace's back.

"Ace, save me! These plants are gonna eat me!" He squealed.

"That's just you, yoi." Marco commented.

"Thatch! Get off me!" Ace shook the poor brunette off, causing him to land with an "oof"

Ace saw Thatch pout. "I thought you were on my side, Ace!" He whined, causing Ace chuckle.

He lit his fire more to look ahead. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Just more leaves, trees, and a monstrous amount of vines. Ace let out an "ugh". There was no way they were going to get through this. He missed the sun already, and it's only been ten minutes. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but this forest was starting to give him the creeps. He felt like he was being watched by something, which wasn't a good feeling.

"Ace," Marco looked back at the fire man. "Light that flame anymore and you'll start a wildfire, yoi." He pointed out, not sounding like he cared anyway.

Ace nodded and toned it down a bit. "Hey, Marco. Do you feel like something is watching us?"

Thatch shivered. "Don't mention it! I'm creeped out enough!"

Marco shot Thatch an unamused looked, then proceeded to answer Ace's question. "Now that you mention it, yoi. I do feel like something's off, a bit."

At that moment, something huge crashed into the small space. All three Commanders jumped opposite directions, cornering the object or whatever had just destroyed the undergrowth. With the plants teared down, sunlight was able to make its way through to the island, illuminating the beast. It was a huge lion. Probably fifty times the size of a normal one. Ace clenched his teeth together and reached for his knife of his hip.

"Marco, you idiot! You just jinxed it!" Ace heard Thatch whine.

"Now's not the time, yoi." Marco said cooly on the other side of the giant.

Ace pulled out his knife and held it on offensive position. "Hey, kitty. You wanna go?"

The lion snorted the thrusted a paw forward. Ace nimbly jumped up to dodge. The lion growled whipped its tail, nearly hitting Thatch and Marco. The Commanders jumped back.

Ace took the open chance to rush forward and swung this dagger forward, right into the lion's eye. The lion yowled loud enough to cause anyone hearing damage and scrambled through the forest, leaving a wreck behind. Light quickly made its way through reck and scattered across the ground.

Ace heard Thatch sigh behind him. "Well, he's not coming back."

Ace smiled with satisfaction. "Not by a long shot." He looked ahead, towards the path. "Should we...you know, follow it?"

"N-" Thatch was cut off by a blood curdling scream that came from the same direction.

Ace, Marco, and Thatch all turned to each other. With a quick nodded of agreement, they all sprinted towards the screaming. The surrounding blurred out of sight as Ace rushed through the shattered vines and leaves. There seemed to be a dark clearing up ahead and if it was possible, he pushed himself to run faster. Was he reached the clearing, two things caught his attention. Firstly, the huge lion from before, and it looked pissed. _Really_ pissed. The second thing noticed, the lion was had cornered something against a tree. It wasn't just something. It was some_one_. A little boy stood against the tree, trembling. His features were overcome with fear. Tears welled up in the corners of the little boy's eyes. His hair was messy and had specks of leaves in them. He was covered in cuts and scrapes. The wound that stood out the most was the huge gash on his side, showing through his black short sleeved shirt. Ace guessed that I must have happened not to long ago. There was still some blood that welled up, on the surface. Without thinking, the fire user charged at the lion. Jumping up, he kicked the large animal in the face, sending it across the dark clearing, planting itself into the ground. The lion jumped up, growling and hurled itself… at Thatch.

"Wait, what?!" Thatch noticed the huge lion and hastily dodged as it flung its paw forward. "Nice kitty." Thatch said. The lion charged at Thatch once again. "No?" Thatch jumped up and punched the lion right in the nose, sending it flying. The lion scrambled onto its huge paws and scurried off.

"He's all show." Ace muttered. He turned his head over to the boy. His eyes widened.

* * *

**And, done! Just kidding. I know that some of you will be out for my blood if I end it here. So…**

**ONWARD!**

* * *

"Oi! Ace!" Thatch called. Ace didn't move. He just kept staring at the boy. "Ace?" Thatch hurried over to his frozen friend, with Marco following close behind. "Hey, what's wrong." Thatch turned to see the little boy, shaking out of either exhaustion or fear. The kid tried taking a step back, but he was already leaning against the tree.

"Is that a kid?" Marco knew it was a dumb question. Of course it was a kid! What adult or teenager looked like a four year old?

The poor kid bit the bottom of his lip.

Thatch knelt down in front of the child. "It's okay. We won't hurt you. We're here to help."

The boy leaned closer to the tree.

"Can he even understand me?" Thatch asked, more to himself.

"I don't know, yoi." Macro crouched next to the Commander. "You okay, kid?"

The boy slowly sunk onto the ground, holding his side. His breathing grew shaky. "Hey," Marco started. "Doesn't he look like Mugiwara?"

"Yeah, he does." Thatch nodded. He never saw Ace's deceased brother in person, but he saw his wanted poster before. The kid and the rookie pirate really looked alike. "Hey kid. Why are you on the island. It isn't safe here."

For the first time, the kid actually said something. "I know… I just…" His tilted to his left and collapsed onto his side.

Thatch shook the kid's shoulder. "Hey, kid!"

Ace snapped out of his trance. For some odd reason, his brotherly instincts kick in and he picked up the kid. "Let's get him to the ship."

Marco and Thatch nodded and got up. In silent agreement, they all sprinted back.

* * *

Ace kicked opened the infirmary door, the little kid in his arms. "Hey! Some help here!" His voice echoed in the small room. He panted. To took about two minutes to find the ship and Ace didn't bother to stop and chat with the others or answer questions. A nurse looked over from her desk.

"What is it now, Portgas?" She asked in an annoyed tone. "Don't tell me you came because you got a scratch from that island. I don't have time-"

"Not in the mood. Kid." He placed the injured boy on bed.

The nurse lifted an eyebrow. "A new patient?" She had a gleam in her eye that honestly scared him a bit. Something like she was about to cut someone open and dissect them. Okay, maybe not that but something one that level. "You get yourself into the weirdest shit, don't you." It wasn't a question.

"Hey! It's not my fault!" Ace defended himself.

"Sure…" The nurse got out her seat and walked over to the bed. She looked at the kid with a worried expression. She placed a cool hand on him forehead, causing the boy slightly jerk his head away and let out a small groan. "He has a fever. His wounds aren't that deep. Most are just for show."

Ace sighed in relief. "So, aren't you going to work your nurse magic and fix him, or something?"

The nurse looked at him with a playful glare. "Not with your ass here. Scram, brat." She pushed the fire user out of the infirmary and slammed the door.

"You don't have to do that." Ace pouted.

"Yeah, yeah." The nurse dismissed him behind the door.

* * *

Ace couldn't even contemplate the situation. Why was there a kid that look exactly like Luffy on that freakish island? There was no way that it was Luffy. There was no way. Ace put his hand on his head in frustration. What in hell's name was going on? Why was there a Luffy look alike on that island? Why is he four? Why was he injured? Questions flowed over Ace like a waterfall. If he could get some answers, that would make this whole situation a lot better in many ways. He should probably ask when the boy woke up. Then again, would the boy even understand him? If he lived on that island for his entire life, that would mean he didn't know much language… right? Hopefully that wasn't true. If it was, they would have to teach the boy to speak, and that would be huge pain. Not to mention, Ace was a terrible teacher and everyone else weren't any better, by any chance. Even if the boy did learn to speak, it would take ages and Ace would have a mental breakdown. Okay, Ace was getting off topic. Judging by the look the boy had when they saved him, he wasn't one to trust easily. Apparently, saving him from a lion wasn't enough. They had do something else. Ace knock himself on the head. What was he worrying about? It was random kid that they picked up on some weird island! Just some kid…. the looked like Luffy. No. Ace wouldn't just let this slide. Something like this didn't happen every day. This wasn't just some coincidence. Something about this situation wasn't right, and Ace was going to find out.

* * *

Ace knocked the door of the infirmary. "Oi."

"Who is it?" An annoyed voice echoed on the room and someone opened the door. "You _again_ Portgas? I'm telling you, scram."

"I want to know more about the kid." Ace replied, ignoring the nurse's order.

The nurse raised an eyebrow. "Taking interest in him, I see." She said playfully. "Finally got a hobby, besides setting things on fire?"

Ace pouted. "No. I just want to know some things."

The nurse gave him a look that said she didn't believe that. "Okay then." She pushed the fire user into the infirmary. "Well, you came just in time! I'm going to check out the island with the other nurses so I need you to stay here and look after him." She shut the door. "And, don't go anywhere!"

Ace took a few seconds to comprehend what was just said. "...Wait, what?"

* * *

Okay, Ace got his wish. Sort of. He was stuck with the Luffy look alike in the infirmary until the nurses got back from the island. But, to be honest. He had no idea what he was doing. He was terrible with kids. He wasn't really taught how to handle situations where you find some kid that looks like your deceased brother, on an uninhabitable island in the New World. Heck, Ace highly doubted that it was ever supposed to happen in the first place. Can you really look at him with a straight face and tell him that this is completely normal? Seriously, this was _not_ normal.

The kid shifted positions in the bed to face Ace. His breathing was soft and it choked once or twice. The nurse must have done so handy work because his arms were covered in bandages and some were wrapped around his forehead as well. The boy let out a quiet groaned and unconsciously pulled the covers over her head. Ace felt a small smile tug at his lips. Luffy would always do that when they were little. Ace shook his head. He was not going down that road. He saw some shifting under the blanket and messy black hair poked out from under the covers. Suddenly, the kid sat up as fast as a lightning bolt and said in a fairly loud voice, "Meat!" Then he fell back onto the bed holding his head. "Ow ow ow ow ow."

Ace was surprised. That was so… Luffy. "Hey kid."

The boy turned him head Ace's way. "Huh?" Slowly sitting up, the boy scanned his surroundings. He's eye widened in realisation that he wasn't on the island. "Where am I?"

Ace mentally sighed. So the boy knew how to speak. Now he didn't have to go through a second hell trying to teach him. The Luffy look alike's gaze locked with Ace's for a second and they started to overflow with fear.

"Kid, it's okay." Ace tried to convince him. "I'm not here to hurt you."

The boy's eyes seemed to relax a bit, but he kept his fearful look. "Who are you?"

Ace sighed. "I'm Ace. Portgas D. Ace. You're on the Moby Dick of the Whitebeard Pirates."

The kid stared at Ace with big round eye. "Um." Finding his voice, the kid spoke. "I'm Luffy. Monkey D. Luffy."

* * *

**I reveal nothing. Please don't kill me.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, let me clear one thing up. I post chapters randomly, which means I post them whenever I finish them. I don't have a consistent pattern. **

**Response to:**

**ame no itteki (Guest): I'm just going to say this. Luffy died… so, yeah. **

**AllyMyLife: Hehe.**

**JoshRand1982: We'll see… MWAHAHAHAHA! **

**Otacku-chan: *comes out of hiding* Good, it's gone. And to justify my actions, I'm a sadist… coughcough**

**ichigo1508: Thank you!**

**Odette Ashworth: Next chapter!**

**Minami: Hope you didn't wait too long.**

**Youmin: Here's what happens next.**

**ggtherescuer: Uh… I think I'll go back into my hiding spot now… (7 hours later) Okay, I safe. Anyway, here's the next chapter and….. don't, uh, kill me, uh, okay? *hands over pillow* Stab this instead.**

**Thanks to everyone who favorited and followed!**

**ON TO THE CHAPTER!**

* * *

The kid stared at Ace with big round eye. "Um." Finding his voice, the kid spoke. "I'm Luffy. Monkey D. Luffy."

Ace stared at him for a moment. "Wait, what?"

"Um." Luffy pulled the blanket up to his chest. "My name is Luffy."

Ace stared at him. And stared. And stared. There was no way. Luffy died. Ace saw him die! There was no way this was Luffy! It was impossible. Impossible. Or, so Ace liked to believe. This kid. He wasn't lying. He was serious. "So, Luffy. Are you feeling better?" He asked awkwardly.

Luffy slightly nodded. "Mhm." But Ace could he the boy look a little to the left and a little bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face.

Ace gave him a look that said he didn't trust that answer. He lightly poked the kid's injured side. The reaction was what he had expected. Luffy yelped and curled into a tight ball, his eyes popped out from behind his knees. "No fair." He muttered into his chest.

Ace shrugged. "Just trying to help, kid."

"I'm not a kid!" Luffy shot up. "Ow!" He grabbed his hip tightly.

Ace pushed him back down. "Don't sit up that fast, you moron!"

Luffy flinched at the sudden raise of the fire user's voice. "M sorry." He whispered softly.

Ace immediately clamped his jaws shut. Did he scare the kid? "No, I'm sorry for raising my voice like that." He really wasn't good with kids, at all.

Luffy shifted onto his good side to look at Ace. "It's okay." He hugged his pillow close to his chest.

* * *

There was a knocking coming from the door. A hand twisted the door knob to the left and the door flung open to reveal the same nurse from before.

"You're back!" Ace was finally relieved from taking care of a kid. He really wanted to dance around the room in joy, but that would be really embarrassing.

The nurse ignored him and turned her head to the bed against the wall. "The patient's still asleep, hm?" The nurse said, looking at Luffy. The boy was sleeping soundly. His blankets were pulled up to his shouldered. His arms were bent up to his chin, clutching the blanket loosely.

"He woke up once, but he went back to sleep a few minutes ago." Ace answered.

The nurse nodded and walked over to the bed. Sitting in the chair, she reached her hand out, placing it on the child's forehead. Sighing, she took it away and stood up.

"How is he?" Ace asked with sudden interest.

"His fever is still there, though it's part of the healing process." She walked over to her desk and grabbed a stethoscope. She put the instrument on and sat down next to the boy again. Taking the end of the stethoscope, she placed it on the kid's chest. With no emotion, she took the instrument off and placed it on the bed. She went over to her desk again and grabbed a clipboard. Grabbing a sheet of paper, she clamped it onto the clipboard and grabbed a pencil. Ace stood and watched as the nurse continued the exam. Checking his breathing, wounds, changing some bandages, stuff like that. After a while, she finally spoke. "Ace, do you know his age?"

Ace's head perked up. "Uh, no. But he looks like a four or five year old to me." Ace saw the nurse's face go uneasy. "What's wrong?"

The nurse shot Ace a hard look. "I want you to call all the commanders to the council room. If any object, burn them." It was a direct order. Ace never saw her look so serious. He hastily nodded and hurried out the door.

* * *

"What happened?" Marco asked. All the commanders sat in a circle.

The nurse flipped through some papers. "I'm here to tell you some news about our new passenger."

"You mean the kid?" Ace asked.

The nurse nodded. "He's in pretty bad shape. Even though his wounds aren't as bad as they look, he had suffered lots of mental trauma. Living on that island really mess up his brain. The physical damage is no better. Even though the surface wounds are no problem, his heart beat isn't regular. It follows a pattern of five slow beats and three quick ones. His lungs don't seem to have much damage done, they still function well. He is also malnourished. His isn't nearly as tall or heavy for his estimated age."

"How old do you think he is?" Namur asked.

"If I'm accurate, the kid's about seven years old." The nurse read off her paper.

Everyone in the room gave a collective, "What?!"

Thatch threw his arms into the air. "There's no way he's seven! He barely looks four! Five, if you really want to push it!"

The nurse sighed. "I might sound crazy, but it's no lie." She flipped to the next page on her clipboard. "His injuries recommend that he's live on the island for a year. Even though that's a relatively short amount of time, a kid his age would get seriously messed up." She flipped to another page. "It'll probably take a year or so to fix him up physically. As for mentally, I can say for sure."

Ace tilted his head. "He didn't seem that bad when we were talking."

"He's a smart kid. If you guys can take out a lion in five seconds flat, you can take him out in five seconds flat. He was probably having a mental war with himself to act like that when you were there."

Ace froze. "Why would I want to take out a kid?!"

The nurse smack her forehead. "_Like I said_. His brain was messed up by that island. After being hunted down every second, every day for a year, he probably thinks everyone is the enemy."

"That's messed up." Rakuyo crossed his arms.

Fossa snorted. "You don't say."

"What do you suppose we do?" Marco's voice silenced the room.

The nurse looked up from the clipboard. "In the situation we're in right now, it wouldn't be right to drop him off at the next island. The only choice we have is to keep him on the ship until he's fully recovered. Then we can worry about the rest of the details."

Marco nodded. "I guess it's the best we can think of for now."

None of the commanders objected.

"Then it's settled. The brat stays here." Marco dismissed.

* * *

Luffy woke up with a start. A really bad start. As his rubbed his eyes and sat up, he noticed he was still on the ship. There wasn't anyone in the room, which scared him a bit. He was alone again. Why wasn't Ace here? Even though the boy was terrified of him, he didn't mind if it meant not being alone. He hated being alone. He didn't know why, but he really wanted Ace.

Just then, the knob on the door twisted and the door opened, revealing a beautiful women with a white jacket on. She looked over at Luffy.

"Finally up?" She smiled warmly. Luffy was confused. Why was she smiling? Was she happy?

Luffy return a curt nod.

She walked over to the bed and sat down in the chair, next to the bed. "Are you feeling okay?"

Luffy nodded again. Ace asked the same thing. Why were they asking him? They were the enemy. Why were they concerned for him?

The nurse sighed. "I'm not here to hurt you kid. I just want to know how to help you."

Help? The lady wanted to help him? Luffy tilted his head. "Help?"

The lady nodded. "Yes, help."

Luffy really didn't know how to register the situation.

The nurse place a clipboard on her lap. "Okay, I need you to answer some questions, if you don't mind."

Luffy nodded. Why was she asking him if he was okay with something or not? She didn't make any sense.

"Okay." The nurse walked over to her desk to place the clipboard on the table. Then, she walk back to the bed and sat down. "First question. What's your name kid?"

"Um. I'm Luffy." Luffy replied with slight hesitation. He let his guard spit a tiny bit. The lady was nice. His body relaxed for a second. Luffy mental shook his head and tensed up a bit. She was the enemy. The enemy couldn't be trusted. They might be pretending and wanted to hurt him. He wasn't going to let that happen.

"Second question," The nurse's voice snapped Luffy back into reality. The nurse continued. "Why were you no that island. It's dangerous there."

Luffy lowered his head. ""I know. I just…"

The nurse leaned closer. "Hm?"

"I don't know how I got there." Luffy admitted.

To his surprise, the nurse didn't try digging into the subject. "Okay. I'm going to ask physical questions and do some tests to see where needs the most treatment. You can push me away or tell me to stop if you feel pain or something makes you feel uncomfortable, go it?"

Luffy nodded. He didn't know what else to do. Wasn't this lady trying to hurt him? She was the enemy. Why was she telling him what she was going to do before she did it?

"Good." The nurse smiled. She placed her palm on his chest. "Can you start by taking a breath for me?"

Luffy did as told. His breath came shaky at first, but quickly stopped.

"That's good." The lady took her hand off his chest. "Tell me Luffy, do you sometimes feel pain in your chest when you breathe too hard?"

Luffy though for a moment. He did, sometimes. But that was a long time ago, and he wasn't about to admit weakness to someone didn't trust. He shook his head.

Thankfully, the nurse took the answer and continued. "Where hurts most?"

Luffy tilted his head. Did she just ask him to admit weakness? Weakness wasn't acceptable. It gave him enemies an advantage. He wasn't about to admit it.

"Your allowed to feel pain, Luffy. Thatch told me that you got mauled by a lion. You've got to be hurting _somewhere_." The nurse cut into his thoughts.

Luffy's eyes widened with innocent curiosity. How did she know that Luffy was in pain? Luffy looked down for a moment then shifted. He pointed to his head. His head hurt from all the information he was taking in from this lady. It was weird. She was the enemy, yet at the same time she wasn't. It made Luffy's head _hurt_!

"You're head?" The nurse looked at him. She suddenly understood what he was trying to imply and chuckled. "Okay Luffy, besides your head, where else hurts?"

Luffy thought for a moment. He grabbed his hurt side.

The nurse gently removed his hand from the side and took a look. That wound that no joke. A centimeter deeper he could have died. This kid had madluck. "That one's a bad one. I'll have to change your bandages later." She place her hand against the wound. "Does this hurt?"

Luffy shook his head.

She pressed her hand down on the wound, slightly harder. "How about this?"

Luffy jerked away in surprise and pain. "Ow!" He nodded vigorously.

"How much?"

Luffy gripped the sheets on the bed tightly, meaning "a lot". The nurse nodded and took her hand away. "Almost done." She assured. The nurse continued the exam with various questions and test. Luffy answered them. Some truthfully, some not. He still didn't trust her enough to tell her everything. A few minutes past and the nurse stood up.

"You're all done Luffy. Now I just need to change those bandages of yours." The lady walked over to a cabinet and opened it, taking out a roll of bandages and a bottle of some type of liquid. She also took out some white fluff that looked like cotton. The nurse walked over to the bed and sat down again. "I'm going to change your bandages. You can lay down if you want."

Luffy shook his head. If he lied down, he would be vulnerable.

The nurse nodded and carefully unravelled the bandages around the boy's waist. "You can tell me if anything hurts and I'll try being more gentle."

Luffy nodded.

The nurse pulled the cork out of the tiny bottle and poured some onto the cotton. "This is to make sure your wound doesn't get infected. It has a nasty sting so it'll hurt. Stay strong for me, okay?"

Luffy nodded. Why was she telling him that it hurt? Wasn't that the point, hurting him? He prepared himself for the sting. The nurse applied the cotton onto the wound. She was right. It stung like crazy! Luffy winced and bit his bottom lip to keep the grunt in.

"Okay." The nurse took the cotton away, to Luffy's relief. The sting only lasted for a bit. "I'm going to wrap it up, then you can rest, okay?"

Luffy nodded. The nurse unravelled the roll of bandages and started carefully wrapping the wound. She secured it with a small knot and took her hand away. "And, done! You can rest now, Luffy. You look beat."

Luffy shifted a bit.

The nurse gave him a confused look. "Is there anything wrong?"

Luffy looked at his legs. "Pretty lady. What's your name?"

The nurse raised and eyebrow, then smiled. "I never told you it, did I? How rude of me. My name's Chiasa." She said.

Luffy nodded. "Thanks Chiasa."

She stood up and headed towards the door. She opened it and looked back. "No problem kid." And the door closed.

* * *

**Pretty short. I decided to post it today because I'm gonna be gone for a bit. 2 weeks. Sigh. **

**So, in this chapter, you got a look at what's happening in Luffy's mind and stuff. Yeah. Messed up stuff. **

**Anyway, see you in 2 weeks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I'm back! It's been awhile. 2 weeks. 2… agonizing…, long… weeks.**

**Anyways, I think I'll make this chapter longer for you guys… **

**Responses to:**

**sticy17: Here's more!**

**ggtherescuer: I will! Please take another pillow!**

**Otaku-chan (Guest): You're a sadist too? Yeah! Someone who understands me! *Skips Wizard of Oz style with you* I'd love to go do sadist things and peat each others hair! Let's be sadist friends and torture the people we hate! I wish I could give my social life to you… But, my friends are all crazy XD**

**Ace Portgas D: Sadly, he doesn't remember. Anyway, next update! **

**Oh. And, the first two scenes are the same, except from different perspectives. Ace's then Luffy's. You'll see.**

**ONWARD!**

* * *

Ace smacked himself on the forehead. He muttered to himself, "Ace, I need you to do this. Ace, I need to do that. Ace, I think it's a great idea for you to stay in the same room with a kid who is scared of you." He sighed. That nurse was the person he would never understand. That and Luffy. Maybe even Izo, but that wasn't the point. Ace plopped down into the chair, next to the infirmary bed. Little Luffy was sleeping soundly on the bed. His expression was calm for the once. The kid has slept nonstop for the entire day. The sun was starting to set and everyone was probably eating. But, not him. Nope! That nurse told him to look after Luffy. Ace's stomach growled. He sighed. If he didn't get any food soon, he was going to die of starvation.

But still, Ace felt a small smile tug at his lips. He still couldn't help but compare the boy to _his_ Luffy again. Luffy would only be peaceful at sleep. Anything else and he would be so energetic that it would be annoying. Except, instead of being energetic, this Luffy was more like a frightened, fragile kitten when he was awake. Ace let out an annoyed sigh. What was he supposed to do? The nurses were on the island, trying to find something interesting. Marco was busy with stupid paper work. He could asked Thatch to look after Luffy instead, but the man would probably do a horrible job. He honestly didn't trust anyone but himself with Luffy, not that he knew what he was doing at all. He felt like he needed someone to guide him, or he was going to do something bad. He didn't have any confidence in himself when it came to dealing with kids. He was fire. Fire wasn't very helpful unless you wanted to burn someone. And, he _wasn't_ burning this kid, or the nurse would skin him alive. Luffy shifted him his bed, a pained expression had overcome his features. Ace's eyes softened. The poor kid was probably having a nightmare. It wasn't surprising. If he lived on that island for a year, like the nurse said, nightmares were completely normal.

When Luffy have nightmares when they were little, the kid would hug Ace really tight and sob. Of course, back then, Ace would pull Luffy off him and growl. Nowadays, Ace really didn't know why he was so mean to Luffy. Maybe because he was just born grumpy. If he saw his past self, he would probably laugh his ass off.

Ace heard Luffy groaned and turn his attention to the small child. He frowned. The boy had a look of absolute horror on his face. Ace sighed. Nightmares were truly scary if you thought about it.

Luffy shot up from the bed, he looked around with wild eyes. He turned to Ace.

"Woah." Ace tried calming the child down. "It's okay, Luffy. You're in the infirmary. Nothing bad is going to happen."

Out of nowhere, he felt the little child wrap his arms around Ace and sobbed. Luffy's face was buried into Ace's chest and tears flowed out of his eyes. Ace was partly shocked, partly in denial. Was Luffy hugging him? This was completely unexpected.

"Luffy?" Ace placed a hand on the small boy's head.

"Ace." Luffy hicced. "Don't go."

Ace felt confusion overwhelm him.

"I don't want to be alone again." Luffy said. "It was cold and lonely and scary. I don't want to be alone again."

Was the kid crying because he felt lonely? It's amazing how being lonely can affect someone.

"I'm sorry. I'm really, really, really, really, really, really, really sorry." Luffy repeated. "I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it."

"Why are you apologizing for?" Ace asked. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Luffy wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "I don't know. I made Ace sad. I'm really, really, really..."

_Made me sad? Wha-_

"Stop saying that." Luffy stopped crying and stared up at Ace, sniffling a bit. "You didn't do anything wrong, so stop apologizing."

Luffy hicced and rubbed his eyes. "Sorry-"

Ace gave him a hard look.

"Sor-" Luffy covered his mouth with his hands. "I mean…"

Ace sighed. "It's okay, Luffy. You should sleep some more." He picked Luffy up under the arms and place him on the bed. "You look like you're going to pass out."

Luffy collapsed into his back and rubbed his eyes. He grabbed his pillow and hugged it in a Luffy-like fashion. "Are you going, Ace?"

Ace thought for a moment. After seeing Luffy cry like that, it wouldn't be right to leave. "I'll be right here. I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Ace placed his hand on the little boy's head. "I'm staying here."

Luffy's grip loosened on the pillow and he closed his eyes. "Night, night."

* * *

_Battlefield. That was the only thing he saw. There was nothing but people fighting and killing each other. Marineford. Why did that name just come to mind? Akainu. Who was Akainu? He focused his eyes forward. A fist. A magma fist thrusted forward. Luffy tried to move. Just move. His legs hurt like crap. They were useless. So he was going to die. Not like it mattered anyway. He didn't have anyone to cry for him if he was gone. No one would care. But a flash appeared before him. Fire. No, a person? A person appeared before him. Who was it? Why was he shielding him? Luffy's arm automatically reached forward and pushed the person away. He felt a burning pain rip through his chest. He wanted to scream. To cry out, but his voice wouldn't work. He fell onto his knees. His legs stung. He felt the fist tear itself out of his chest and agony shot through him. His body shut down and he fell forward. The pain was gone. The feeling in his chest was gone. He just felt himself fall into someone's arms. It felt warm. Nice. But why did that person sound sad? Why was he sad? He used the last of his energy to lift his head to see whose arms he had fallen into. Black hair. Wavy. Messy. This was…!_

_The scene changed. It was dark. Lonely. There was nothing there. Why was he here? He tried moving his legs, but he just fell forward, onto his stomach. Where was this place? Why was he here? Was it his punishment? Was this hell? This was worse than hell. He was alone. Alone was worse than hell. Was he here because he made that person sad? He didn't want that person to be sad. Why were they sad? He felt tears drip down his eyes. He was scared. He admitted it to himself. He was terrified. He wanted to leave. Somebody get him out of here. He didn't like it here. Someone. Anyone. Get him out. Please, get him away from here._

* * *

Luffy's eyes shot open and and glanced around. What happened? He felt scared. Why was he scared. All he could remember was being alone. Sadness. Regret. Pain. And he wanted to say sorry. He wanted to say sorry so bad, but he didn't know why. His head turned to Ace.

"Woah. It's okay, Luffy." He said. "You're in the infirmary. Nothing bad is going to happen."

Luffy felt tears well up in his eyes and he flung himself at the teen. He didn't care anymore. He wanted someone, anyone to comfort him. He let all his tears he had bottle up out. He sobbed. No more being strong. No more pain. He cried.

"Luffy?"

Luffy hicced. "Ace. Don't go." He didn't want to be alone again. Never again. He would do anything to not be alone. "I don't want to be alone again." His voice shook. "It was cold and lonely and scary. I don't want to be alone again." He felt the tears keep coming. He remembered. He made Ace sad. He didn't want Ace to be sad. He didn't want Ace to be sad because of him. "I'm sorry. I'm really, really, really, really, really, really, really sorry." Luffy repeated. He didn't know what was happening. The words just fell out of his mouth. "I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it."

"Why are you apologizing for?" Ace asked. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Luffy wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "I don't know. I made Ace sad. I'm really, really, really..."

"Stop saying that." Luffy felt his tears dry up a bit and he looked up at Ace. The teen's eyes were soft. It was like something that Luffy missed for a long time. "You didn't do anything wrong, so stop apologizing."

Luffy rubbed his puffy eyes and hicced. He felt his throat tighten. "Sorry-"

Ace gave him a hard look. Luffy felt the tears well up in his eyes again. "Sor-" He quickly covered his mouth with his hands. "I mean…" He didn't know what else to say.

Ace sighed. "It's okay, Luffy. You should sleep some more." He felt Ace pick his up and place him on the bed. "You look like you're going to pass out."

It was mostly true. Luffy felt dizzy and his head hurt. He really wanted to lay down. He collapsed onto the bed. His entire body rushed with relief. He grabbed his pillow. For some odd reason, it gave him comfort. "Are you going, Ace?" Luffy didn't want Ace to leave. He didn't want to be alone.

After a bit, Ace said, "I'll be right here. I'm not going anywhere."

Luffy felt happy, yet sad at the same time. He didn't know why. "Promise?"

"Promise. I'm staying here." Ace's voice was solid. There was no uncertainty in his voice. Luffy let his drowsiness take over.

"Night, night."

* * *

Luffy opened one of his eyes. His stomach growled. He needed food. He hadn't had food for a while. He slowly sat up. He looked as the chair. Ace was sitting in it, arms crossed. His eyes were closed and he snored slightly. Luffy guessed that he was asleep. _He didn't leave_. A small smile tugged at Luffy's lips. Ace kept his promise. He shook his head. Ace was still an enemy, like it or not. Luffy stared at Ace for a moment. The man's eye twitched. Luffy quickly fell back onto the bed and pulled the covers over his head. His eyes peeked out from under the covers and he casted his eyes towards Ace. The man opened one of his eyes and yawned.

"Aw, crap. Did I fall asleep again?" He rubbed his eyes. Standing up, Ace walked over to the table in the corner of the room and lifted pitcher of water, pouring it into a glass. He lifted the glass of water to his mouth. It reminded Luffy of how dry his throat was. He let out a tiny cough. Immediately, Ace turned around. Luffy let out a soft squeal of alarm and quickly pulled the sheets over his head, again. Luffy heard the water running out of the pitcher again. He then heard footsteps growing nearer and nearer. He felt a hand tap his shoulder and he looked over the bed sheets. Ace was tapping his shoulder, a glass of water in his hand.

"You thirsty?" Ace asked.

Luffy didn't know how to respond. If he said no, he wouldn't get any water. If he said yes, he would sound weak. Luffy didn't like to sound weak.

But this time, he decided to be truthful. He nodded.

Ace seemed pleased with his answer. "Sit up."

Luffy shifted into a sitting position, back leaning against the backboard of the bed.

Ace handed his the glass of water. "Drink it."

Luffy eyed the glass of water, not budging. "For me?"

"Yes, for you." Ace answered.

Luffy slowly reached both his hands out to grab the glass of water. He placed it on his lap, hands cupped around it. He stared at his reflection in the water.

Ace sighed. "If you're not going to drink it Luffy, I'm gonna do it."

As swift as lightning, Luffy held the glass of water away from Ace, high in the air. "My water." He lowered his cup to his mouth and drank it rapidly, making sure that Ace wouldn't take it.

"Don't drink it that fast." Ace warned. "You're gonna chook."

"No 'M not." Luffy made sure to get every last drop of the water into his mouth. He wiped the water off his face with the back of his hand. He fiddled with the glass a bit.

Ace slowly reached out his hand and took the glass of water out of the palms of the boy.

"Thanks."

Ace looked shocked for a split second, but then gave Luffy a smiled. "You're welcome."

Luffy's cheeks grew warm with embarrassment.

"So, Luffy." Luffy looked up from his hands and to Ace. "Are you feeling better?"

Luffy nodded. Honestly, he felt the same. He didn't feel like anything was wrong with him, except his cut. But, his cut was better, so it didn't matter that much. So, to sum it up, he was good. "Um…"

Ace perked up a bit. "Hm?"

Luffy wondered if he should ask. "Could I have… some more water?"

Ace chuckled a bit. "Sure you can. And, you don't have to be so hesitant about asking for things, okay?"

"Um… okay."

Ace stood up from his chair and walked over to the water pitcher again.

Luffy looked down at the blankets. Was he getting too comfortable here? _Why is he acting like he knew me from somewhere?_ Luffy could tell that Ace was acting a little like he and Luffy had met. Why was that? The picture a magma fist ripping out of his chest and him falling into the familiar arms of someone flashed through his head. Luffy lightly shook his head. It was just a dream. He had bad dreams all the time. But none of those dreams were ever like that one. It felt so real. Like it really happened. No. Just a dream. All dream. He exhaled. _All a dream…_

"Here."

Luffy snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Ace. He was a glass of water his hand. Ace handed the water to Luffy, who hesitantly took it and brought it up to his mouth. Ace sat down in the chair, next to the bed. He unconsciously smiled as Luffy drank from the cup. Luffy took the cup away from his mouth and handed it to Ace. It was still half full.

"Not thirsty anymore?" Ace grabbed the cup and held it on his lap.

Luffy nodded. He played with his hand for a bit. "Um… Ace."

"Yeah?"

"Can I…" Luffy mentally took a deep breath. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

Ace tilted his head in curiosity. "What is it?"

"Why do act like you know me?" Luffy asked. "Do I look like someone you know? Our someone you saw somewhere?"

A pause.

Ace stared for a moment.

* * *

Ace stared for a moment. How was he supposed to answer that? What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say?

"Ace." Luffy leaned closer to Ace. "I really want to know."

Ace didn't want to remember that moment. It was worse than hell to see his little brother die right in front of him. For a moment, Ace had thought that the Luffy in front of him was _his_ Luffy. But they were so different that it slipped his mind the moment he had talked to him.

"Well…" Ace hesitated. Should he tell the boy? He sighed. "Luffy."

"Hm?" Luffy tilted his head.

Ace mentally took a deep breath to ready himself. "That was the name of my little brother. Luffy."

Luffy didn't seem to understand, but slowly, his face was overwhelmed with shock. "Can… can you tell me about him?"

Ace nodded. "That what you wanted me to do, right?"

Luffy nodded.

"Let's see. Where do I start?" Ace's mind overflowed with all the memories of his little, silly, hyperactive, brother. "Well, Luffy was really goofy and childish. He was really naïve and reckless, too." He started making a mental list of words to describe his little brother. There were so many. "He was always bright and smiled a lot." Ace continued. "And he-"

"Was?"

Ace was cut off by Luffy. "What?"

"Was." Luffy said simply. "You keep saying 'was'. Why?"

Ace clenched his teeth together, slightly on his bottom lip. "It's because he's not here anymore."

"What do you mean?" Luffy asked.

"He's dead."

Luffy looked shocked, guilty, and sad at the same time. After a moment of silence, Luffy opened his mouth to speak. "Sorry."

Ace raised an eyebrow, slightly. "For what?"

"Asking." Luffy said, guiltily. "It made Ace sad."

Ace couldn't help but smile a bit. "It's okay."

Luffy nodded and yawned.

"Tired?"

Luffy nodded. "Tired."

Ace placed a hand on the boy's chest and gently pushed him down, until his head rested against the pillow. "Then sleep. You still need to rest some more before you can get out of bed."

Luffy rolled onto his left side, facing Ace. He tucked his hands under the pillow. His eyes wandered off a bit. After a few seconds Luffy spoke. "Ace."

"Hm?"

"Can you sing a song?"

Ace raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You want a song?"

Luffy slowly nodded.

Ace thought for a moment. "Do you know about Bink's Sake?"

Luffy shook his head. "What is it?"

Ace scooted his chair up more. "It's a song that pirates sang in the old days. It's used for lifting the spirits of people and make them happier."

Luffy smiled. "I like that."

"Do you want to hear it?" Ace smiled as the child nodded vigorously. "Okay. Here it goes. _Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho~ Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho~..._" Ace kept singing as Luffy's eyelids slowly started closing. "_... Sayonara minato, Tsumugi no sato you, DON to icchou utao, funade no uta…_"

Ace stopped as he heard Luffy's silent snoring. He smiled and stood up. He walked over to the light switch near the door and flicked them down. The lights flickered off and Ace walked back to his spot in the chair. It was about sunrise by now. The nurses would be back soon. He'll just take a tiny nap before they do.

* * *

"Ace." Tap. "_Ace_." Tap. "Ace!" Bonk!

"Ow!" Ace's chair tipped backward and, sadly, lost its balance and fell. Ace held his head with a hand. Looking up, he saw a nurse with light orange hair looming over him. "Oh. Hey Akiko. Where's Chiasa?"

The woman - Akiko sighed. "She found some interesting plants and decided to collect some to study. She's coming soon."

Ace got up and patted his shorts to get the dust off. "Jeez. You didn't have to hit me upside the head."

Akiko smirked. "Well, if I didn't, you wouldn't wake up, would you." It was no question.

Ace pouted in defeat.

Akiko chuckled. "You look like a ten year old like that."

Ace's face went red.

Ignoring the fire head's complaining, Akiko looked over that Luffy. "How is he?"

Ace immediately stopped his ranting. "He looks a lot better, but I'm no doctor. You tell me."

Akiko roll her eyes in good humor and walked over to the door, turning on the lights. Akiko and Ace both saw Luffy begin to shift. Akiko silently walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it. She rested her hand on Luffy's forehead.

"His fever seems like it's close to gone." Akiko walked over to the cabinets and opened one, taking out a thermometer.

Luffy shifted again and slowly opened his eyes. "Good morning." He sounded like he mostly said that to himself. Ace chuckled.

"Good morning, Luffy." Ace waved from his spot, behind the fallen chair.

Luffy rubbed his eyes. Then the child's eyes widened in surprise. Probably from getting a response from someone, besides his head. Luffy looked towards Ace and relaxed. "Hi Ace." He yawned. "Is it time to eat?"

"After I do your check up." Akiko walked over the bed and sat down. Without warning, she shoved a thermometer into Luffy's mouth. "Do me a favor and keep that in your mouth."

Luffy nodded obediently.

After a few minutes, the Akiko took the thermometer out of Luffy's mouth and looked at it, to see the temperature. "38 degrees Celsius. Better than last time, but still a fever." She placed the thermometer on the bed. "Tell me, do you feel like you're sick?"

Luffy shook his head.

"Then, that's good." Akiko said. "We need to give you certain foods to help your malnourishment." She said. She turned to Ace. "Hey, go tell Thatch to make something." She handed him a list. "Only these ingredients."

Ace nodded. "Got it." He opened the door and was off.

* * *

"Thatch." Ace knocked the door to the kitchen. "You there?"

He saw the door knob twist to the left and the door opened, revealing Ace's good friend. "What do ya' think? I'm making breakfast for a hundred family members here."

Ace gave him an amused smirk. "Well, do you mind putting that on hold for a bit and cook some food for our new passenger?" He handed the list to Thatch.

"The kid?" That quirked an eyebrow up.

Ace nodded.

"Sure. I'll bring it to the infirmary when I'm done. Beside, if I don't agree, that nurse will skin me alive."

Ace rolled his eyes. "That's the only thing that keeps me looking after that kid."

It wasn't entirely true. Just a bit. Ace admitted that he was getting slightly attached to Luffy. The kid just reminded him so much of his deceased brother.

Thatch just laughed.

* * *

Ace opened the door to the infirmary. Akiko was sitting in the chair, next to the bed. Luffy was most likely sleeping. His breathing was soft and quiet.

"Thatch said he was going to bring the food here." Ace said.

Akiko turned around. "Oh, okay." She stood up and stretched her arms up. "I'm going to make sure he doesn' t add some things that I don't want, like he usually does." She started towards the door and opened it.

"Oi, what about me?" Ace waved his arms around.

"Stay here." Akiko replied, simply. "Don't argue. I know you like him." She smiled.

Ace could feel the steam radiating off his face. "I- I don't like him! He just… reminds me of someone, okay?!"

Akiko's eyes softened. "I know that."

She stepped out the door and closed it.

* * *

Where am I? _Luffy opened his eyes. He was floating in air. _What's going on! I'm flying! _His body suddenly lowered to the ground. He was in the middle of a group of people. _Nine. _There were nine people there. A green haired man who was sitting down, legs bent up. A reindeer-like animal was clinging to his pant leg. There was a dark-haired woman at was standing. Her eyes were shadowed. An orange haired lady was hugging her from the side. There was a cool looking blue haired guy, wearing speedos. A skeleton with and awesome afro was standing a few feet away from him. There was a blonde haired man standing farthest away, a cigarette was in his mouth and lighter in his hand, with refused to light. Lastly, there was a man with black, curly hair, that was shaking the shoulders of a man with black, messy hair. Was that Ace? Why was Ace there?_

_Luffy saw the man with the curly hair yell, "Ace! Tell me that this is all a joke! Luffy isn't dead! Luffy can't be dead! Luffy's the man who will be Pirate King! He can't die without fulfilling his dream! THIS CAN'T BE RIGHT!"_

_Was that man crying over him? Luffy remembered about how Ace told him that he a brother called Luffy. Were that crying over Ace's brother?_

"_Usopp." Luffy turned his head towards the orange haired lady. _

"_He can't be dead." The curly-haired man cried and fell onto his knees. "He can't."_

Luffy's dead? _Was he seeing what happened after Ace's brother's death? Why was he seeing this?_

_He took a glance around. All these people had one thing in common. They were crying. Luffy could feel his heart clench, watch them. He could tell that they were like family. If one was gone, they would all be broken. Luffy had never had some cry for him before. He didn't want anyone to cry for him. He never liked it when people were sad for him. He took a few steps toward the green haired man. He stopped when he was in front of the crying man. A name popped into his mind. _Zoro. _He looked down at the reindeer. _Chopper. _He turned his gaze towards the dark-haired woman and the orange haired lady. _Robin. Nami. _He looked at the blonde haired man. _Sanji. _He turned around and his eyes landed on the curly-haired man. _Usopp. _He gazed at the blue haired man and the skeleton. _Franky. Brook. _He didn't know how those names popped into his mind. He felt like he's met these people before. But where?_

* * *

Luffy slowly opened his eyes and felt a hand nudging his shoulder.

"Hey," Luffy looked up. Ace was nudging him on his shoulder. "It's time to eat."

Luffy slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. He looked over at Ace and saw a man with a brown pompadour hairstyle behind his. He looked at the man.

Ace seemed to notice and jerked his thumb over his shoulder, towards the man. "His name is Thatch. He's a good friend of mind.

"Hi!" Thatch waved.

Luffy made a small, almost unnoticeable smile and waved back.

Thatch handed a plate of soup to him. "Eat up. You must be starving."

Luffy took that plate of soup and placed it on his lap. He grabbed the spoon and scooped up some. He brought the spoon up to his mouth and put it in. "It taste good."

"Glad you like it!" Thatch beamed. "It would have tasted better if Akiko let me add some more salt." He added, with a mutter.

Ace laughed. "She's strict."

"Tell me about it." That rolled his eyes. "Anyway," He turned his attention towards Luffy again. "What's your name?"

Luffy finished drinking his soup and wiped his mouth. "Luffy."

"Luffy, huh?" Thatch eyed Ace.

Luffy handed plate back to Thatch. "Thanks."

Thatch smiled. "You're welcome."

Suddenly, Luffy heard the roar of someone who didn't sound happy. "Thatch!"

Luffy looked over at Thatch, who was snickering uncontrollably. He then looked over to Ace, who rolled his eyes.

A man with pineapple shaped, blonde hair busted into the infirmary. "There you are, yoi!"

Thatch started laughing.

"What did you do now?" Ace asked.

The man with pineapple shaped hair pointed at Thatch, accusingly. "He nailed all my stuff to the ceiling of my room, yoi!"

"Oi, oi!" Luffy heard Thatch counter. "It's called _art_!"

"Well," The other man snapped. "You'd better undo your _art_ before I hurt you, yoi!"

"Hai, hai!" Thatch laughed and pranced out the door.

The blonde haired man placed a hand on his head. "He drives me insane, yoi"

"I think you lost your sanity a _long_ time ago." Ace joked.

The man glared at Ace. He then looked over to Luffy. "He's up?"

"Yep." Ace looked back to Luffy. He pointed at the blonde haired man. "This is Marco. He's the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates."

"Oi." Marco gave Ace a hard look.

"Sorry." Ace scratch him head, sheepishly. "Forgot."

Marco sighed.

Luffy plopped back down, onto the bed. "Sleepy."

"Then sleep." Ace said.

Luffy closed his eyes. "Ace, song?"

Marco gave Ace an amused look. "Sure."

"Bink's Sake?"

"Sure."

Luffy smiled.

"_Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho~ Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho. Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho~ Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho. Binkusu no sake o, todoke ni yuku yo…"_

Luffy was swept into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Done! That was long! 4,885 words, in the bag!**

**Luffy is starting to remember who he was, but they're only vague memories. He doesn't know why he's having them. **

**Luffy remembered the names of the Strawhats! Yeah!**

**Luffy kind of remembered Ace? Well, not really. Oh well, I'm getting there. **

**Bink's Sake! I was going to do Keep You In Peace, but that's not in One Piece. I still like that song though. If you didn't guess, I'm partly irish :P**

_**Fails While Typing:**_

_**Listening to Flower Dance and forgetting about the story**_

_**Start saying the story out loud and not typing, think that the computer would do it for**_

_**Getting distracted by my headphone wire**_

_**Not understanding why I was typing certain paragraphs until I read the entire story again**_

_**Gazing off into the distance and losing my train of thought**_

_**Randomly remembering something funny and types it down instead of the story**_

_**Typing the entire lyrics of One Piece Opening 14, 15, 6, 1, 11, and 17 instead**_

**So, that's it. **

**BYE!**


	5. Chapter 5

**You guys are spoiling me with all your reviews, favorites and follows!**

**Responses to:**

**Otaku-chan (Guest): Yes, a sadist friend! As for torturing people we hate, I have a list too. *evil grin***

**Rosestar26: Thanks!**

**FindingThatDamnedOnePiece: First off, love your new username XD Secondly, I will, don't worry. I'll creepy Ace out sooner or later. Here's the update!**

**Likefireneedsair: The iPod thing is kinda creepy… in a good way though.**

**Guest (2): Thank you!**

**Thanks to the many people who favorited and followed! Sorry that this updating didn't come as soon as I hoped. But, I'm back so yeah!**

**Anyway, ONWARD!**

* * *

"You're getting better kid." Chiasa announced to Luffy, who had a slight grin on. "I'll allow you to walk around on the deck tomorrow, but to have to have someone with you, just incase that injury on your side starts to hurt again."

Luffy nodded eagerly. He really wanted to get out of the stupid bed. His legs were going to die if he didn't do something with them.

Chiasa smiled and removed her stethoscope from Luffy's chest.

Luffy was about to push himself off the bed and run out the door to loosen up his muscles, but Chiasa caught him in the crime with her eyes and he stayed on the bed. He needed to do something. He was bored out of him mind! "Um, Chiasa?"

Chiasa walked over to the bed and sat on the chair. "Yes?"

"Can I sleep somewhere else?" Luffy looked down at his hands, which were fiddling with the edge of his shirt.

Chiasa smiled. "I don't see why not. You're getting better, so you can sleep out the infirmary now." She tilted her head, "Do you have anywhere special in mind?"

Luffy nodded. "I want to sleep in Ace's room." Ace was the closest person to a friend on this ship, besides all the nurses. Luffy was starting to get comfortable around him.

Chiasa giggled. "You can sleep with Ace. But, we gotta see if he's okay with it too."

* * *

Ace heard a knocking at the door. "Coming." He said out of habit. He stood up from his chair with a yawn and rubbed his eyes. He walked toward the wooden door. He opened the door. No one was there, so he decide to look down.

There stood Luffy. He looked down at the child, who looked straight back at him.

"Ace?"

"Yeah?"

Luffy shifted his feet a bit. "Can I… can I sleep here?"

Ace lifted an eyebrow. "Weren't you sleeping in the infirmary?"

Luffy shifted. "Chiasa said that I was getting better, so I could sleep somewhere else. So I want to sleep here."

Ace thought for a moment. He looked directly at Luffy's eyes and forced himself not to think it was adorable. Seriously. Someone should put a bounty on this kid, just for his eyes. Those eyes could make someone destroy the world for him. Or, maybe Ace was just a softy. That must have been it. "Okay, you can sleep here." Ace lifted up the child and walked over to the bed, placing him on it. "You can sleep here." Ace said. He grabbed the mat that was rolled up and leaning against the wall, and unrolled it, placing it on the ground. "I'll sleep here." Luffy nodded. He pulled the bed sheets over his body and lied down, face Ace. Ace took a blanket that was folded up, under the bed and spread it over the mat. He also grabbed a pillow.

"Night, Ace."

Ace smiled. "Good night."

* * *

The sound of thunder crackled in the sky, causing Luffy to whimper. He never liked thunder. It was loud and scary. It was like an earthquake in the sky. To gave him nightmares and Luffy hated nightmares. He hated a lot of things though. But, thunder was one of the worst. Another roar of thunder came and Luffy pressed his hands over his ears. Luffy couldn't take it anymore. He jumped out of the bed, with his pillow in his hand. He dove under the covers of Ace's mat and curled into a ball. He flinched as another crackled or thunder roared. He felt Ace's body shift and rolled onto it's right, facing Luffy. Luffy dug his face into his chest and his arms covered his head, slightly.

"Scared?" Luffy heard Ace's voice over the roaring of the thunder.

Luffy whimpered in response, "Loud. Scary. Don't like."

Luffy felt Ace's face stroke his back. "It's okay. It's just a storm. It'll pass."

"It sounds like that lion in the island. Don't like it." Luffy shifted closer to Ace, desiring comfort.

Ace wrapped an arm around Luffy's waist and shifted him closer. "It's fine. Nothing is going to hurt you. I'll protect you."

Luffy relaxed his tense muscles a bit. "Ace is going to protect me?"

"Right." Ace replied in a firm whisper. "No thunder is going to hurt you tonight, alright?"

Luffy nodded. "Um…" He nudged Ace's arm. "Story?"

"You want a story?" Ace ruffled the boy's hair. "What kind of story?"

Luffy thought for a moment. "Can you tell about when you met his crew?"

"Luffy's crew?" Ace asked.

Luffy nodded.

"Well," Ace started. "I was in a country called Alabasta. It's a desert kingdom in Paradise. I was searching for a man and happened to end up there. I told some lady at Drum Island to tell Luffy that I would be there for a few days. I was in a bar and a marine captain named Smoker was about to try to capture me. But then, Luffy came flying in and crashed into Smoker's back, sending him flying towards me, then I was sent flying into the wall of the bar, along with Smoker, and we crashed through at least five buildings. At first, I have no idea who did it, so I was steaming and I stomped all the way back to the bar. Then I realised that Luffy was eating his day way at the counter. When I was about to call for him, Smoker smashed my head down, into the rubble and shouted 'Mugiwara'!"

Luffy giggled. "Acey got beat."

Ace knocked Luffy on the head. "I wouldn't put it that way."

"Itte~!" Luffy held the bump on his head. "Stingy."

Ace ignored his little comment and continued. "So, I was pretty much pissed at the moment and too angry to move from my spot of being face planted into the ground, so I just lied there for a while. But, I heard Smoker yell, 'Are you listening to me?!' After a minute, I heard Luffy spit out all the food in his mouth and shout, 'Hey! You're that Smokey guy! What are you doing here?!'..."

Ace continued his story and Luffy slowly began to drift off. He closed his eyes and exhaled before falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

Where… Am I? _Luffy looked around. He looked around. There were bubble floating around everywhere and there were weird-looking trees all around the place._ Sabaody Archipelago. _That was the name that came to mind. It looked amazingly tranquil in a way, so the thing that stood out most was that there was a group of terrified and beat up people in front of him. _What's going on? _Luffy turned his head to see a huge bear-looking guy standing before the group of people. Luffy recognized his as Kuma. A man who Luffy somehow recognized as Zoro stood, panting, in front of Kuma. Another man who Luffy recognized as Usopp kneeled on the ground, behind Zoro._

"_If you were to go on a vacation, where would you like to go?" Kuma asked. _

_Luffy's eyes widened. He knew that line from somewhere. But where? _

"_Oi, Zoro." Usopp stuttered. "If you don't hurry up and run…"_

_Before Luffy could register what was going on, Kuma threw his palm forward. And Zoro vanished. _

_Luffy stood there and stared in horror. Zoro was standing right there, and now… he was gone. What was happening…?_

"_Zoro? Zoro? Zoro? Zoro! ZORO!" Luffy heard someone screaming out Zoro's name and whipped around. His eyes widened. It was him. He was kneeling on the ground back there and yelling out Zoro's name. Even though he looked a few years older, it was still him. He took a step closer. Then he ran. He need the to know what was going on. He reached out his hand to touch the figure, but he passed through and landed his feet. He turned his head around. What was going on here!?_

_He heard a wild howl come from behind him and snapped back around. A huge beast smashed its palm into the ground, causing everything in its range to fly back, including Luffy. As he landed onto the ground on his stomach, a wave of shock passed through his body. He lied there, head hurting on the ground. He pushed himself up and turned his head to his right. A woman who Luffy knew as Robin shouted, "Stop it, Chopper! Don't be reckless!"_

_The other Luffy got onto his knees and his arms supported his upper body. "Zoro… Where did you go!?"_

_The monster known as Chopper, smashed around aimlessly, which no self-control whatsoever. _

_A man with blonde hair that Luffy knew as Sanji and a skeleton known as Brook kneeled on the ground, as Usopp aimed his slingshot was Kuma. _

"_I've got 8,000 subordinates, you know!" Usopp shouted, terrified. "Hey! Can't you hear me!? Don't come any closer!"_

_Luffy noticed another Kuma behind Usopp that was charging a beam in his mouth. _

"Watch out!" _Luffy yelled from his spot on the ground. _

"_Look out, Usopp!" Sanji shouted. "Behind you!"_

"_Behi…?" Usopp cut himself off as he saw the other Kuma charging the beam in his mouth._

"_Usopp-san!" Brook called towards the sniper. _

_Kuma suddenly appeared before the other Kuma and threw his palm forward. "Stay out of this." _

_The other Kuma disappeared. _

_Luffy could only stare in horror. Did he get rid over his own comrade? Why? Why was he seeing this? Why? Why? Why!?_

"_Run away, the three of you!" The other Luffy screamed at Sanji, Usopp, and Brook. "Just run away everyone!" _

_Luffy stared at his counterpart. What was happening? Why were these people disappearing?! Why?! _

"_We'll think things over once we're safe!" Luffy explained. "GO!"_

_A man known as Franky looked over to an orange haired woman Luffy knew as Nami. "Hey, Let's go!"_

"_But… Zoro…" Nami looked too dumbfounded to comprehend what was just said. _

"_Like he said," Franky yelled. "We'll think about that later! Let's go!" He he started running. _

_Nami reluctantly followed. _

"_Let's go!" Usopp told Sanji. "The beam only grazed me!" He swung Sanji's arm around his neck. "I'll carry you on my shoulder, so let's hurry!"_

_Kuma took a step closer to Usopp and Sanji. Luffy started running towards Kuma. "Hey! Stop!" He turned to knock Kuma over by smashing him against the side, but he passed through and slid across the ground. He couldn't do anything. _

"_Be careful, you two." Brook slid between Kuma, and Usopp and Sanji. _

"_Brook!" Usopp panicked. "BROOK!"_

_Kuma held his palm back, then thrusted it forward. _

"_I shall protect you!" Brook declared. "Even if it cost me my life!" He he said in realisation, "Oh, but I'm already d…" _

_Brook disappeared. _

_So this was what it was like to be helpless. At someone's mercy. Not able to do anything to help. Luffy hated it. He hated it so much. _

"_BROOK!" Usopp shrieked. _

_Luffy turned over to his counterpart, who kneeled there, mouth gaping in horror. Just then, Luffy noticed a bubble pop. _

"_Damn it…" Luffy heard Sanji swear. "What am I doing?" He ruffled his hair in frustration. "Two of my comrades just vanished before my eyes! Damn it!" Sanji bolted up, knock Usopp back. _

"_Sanji!" Usopp exclaimed. _

_Sanji growled. "Get going, Usopp."_

"_Don't be ridiculous! We're leaving together Sanji!"_

"_Why you…" Sanji growled and jumped at Kuma. _

"_Stop it, Sanji!" Luffy's counterpart shouted. _

"_Damn pad-bastard!" Sanji furiously charged at Kuma, with rage in his eyes. Kuma simply held out his palm, making Sanji bounce off like a beach ball and crash into a building. _

_Luffy's counterpart stood up. "Sanji!"_

_Kuma now stood before Usopp. The sniper was terrified. "D-Don't come any closer!" He grabbed his slingshot from his back and shot an ineffective attack at Kuma. He tried scrambling away, but to no avail, as he stumbled and couldn't go any further. "Don't come any closer!" He shot attacks over and over at the bear-like monster, but Kuma kept walking forward, paying no mind. _

"_Run!" Luffy's counterpart screeched. "RUN!"_

_But Usopp disappeared. _

_Pop._

_Luffy watched the scene before him, wide-eyed and in absolute horror. _"Why…?" _Why was this world so cruel? Why did people like this have to exist? Why did they have to take everything so precious and dear to them away? What did they gain from this? Was it fun for them? To cause others suffering? To rid them everything important in their lives?_

"_Damn it to hell!" Sanji flung himself at Kuma, clearly not giving a shit about anything anymore. _

"_STOP IT, SANJI!" Luffy's counterpart yelled. _

_But Sanji was gone. _

_And another bubble popped._

"_Even Sanji…" _

_Luffy's counterpart clearly had enough and his body started to turn a light shade of red and smoke radiated off his body. "Gear second." _

_Nami and Franky started running away, as far away as possible. But, Kuma appeared before them. _

"_Get out of our way!" Franky shot a metal fist at the tyrant, but it did no damage. _

_Luffy's counterpart charged, leaving nothing but rubble in his place. "Gomu Gomu no… Jet Pistol!" His arm stretch an impossible length and aimed for Kuma. But, the man blocked it with his palm and it went off course. Luffy flew in and punched the bear man's palm, but he was sent flying back, like what happened with Sanji. _

_Kuma threw his palm forward._

_Franky disappeared. _

"_NO!" Nami screamed. Kuma charge forward. "Luffy! Help!"_

_Luffy reached forward as much as possible, but to no avail. "NAMI!"_

_And two bubbles popped._

_Chopper howled and thrusted his hand towards Kuma. The bear man stood there, no signs of emotion. _

"_CHOPPER!" Luffy's counterpart shouted. _

_Chopper. Gone. _

_Pop._

_Luffy's counterpart stood there, balled up in his own frustrations and stress. "Chopper…"_

_Kuma started walking towards Robin. The terrified woman ran. _

"_Stop it." Luffy's counterpart and Luffy whisper together. "Stop it… Stop it… Stop it! Stop it!" Luffy's counterpart balled up his fist. "PLEASE, STOP THIS!" He charge towards Robin and reached his hand out. _

"_Luffy!" Robin cried. _

"_ROBIN!" Luffy reached out more. _

"_Luffy!" Robin exclaimed._

_But Luffy didn't reach her. She vanished. And the last bubble was no more. _

_Luffy's counterpart smashed his head into the ground repeatedly, in sadness and anger at himself. For a moment, he lost his sanity, driving his fists into the ground and smashing his head repeatedly, crying out in frustration. This lasted for a few minutes until tears started to fall from his eyes. "What…" He whispered. "What's… wrong with me?!" He smashed his head into the ground again. "I couldn't save any of them!"_

_Luffy's chest tightened. Why? Why did he feel this way? This feeling in his chest. Why… did he feel like this happened before? Why?_

* * *

"Hey, Luffy. Wake up!"

Luffy bolted up panting and looking around wildly. Where was he now? Was he back? His gaze fell onto Ace. He jolted himself forward, to hug Ace as tightly as possible. _Ace won't disappear. He won't. He's going to stay here. Right here, right here, righthererighthererighthere. _

"Luffy, what's wrong?" Ace patted his on the head.

Luffy sniffled. "I had a bad dream." He hiccuped. "People were disappearing, and there was this really scary guy named Kuma and he was making everybody vanish, and I couldn't do anything to help! Every time I tried, I would pass right through them and it was so unfair!"

Ace rubbed Luffy on the back. "It's okay, Luffy. It was only a dream. It won't actually happen."

Luffy started to sobbed. "Ace." He hugged the man tighter. "Please… promise me you won't disappear. I don't want you to disappear." He hiccuped. "If you disappear, I'll be alone again. I don't want to be alone anymore. Never, never, never, never, never."

Ace didn't reply for a bit. But then, he said, "I'm not going to disappear. I'm staying right here."

"Promise?" Luffy wiped his tears away and looked up at Ace, with wide eyes. He held up a pinky.

Ace held out his pinky too, and they locked. "Promise."

* * *

**Got some little Ace and Luffy time into this chapter. Don't worry guys! Luffy is going to start remembering Ace, later! Remember the promise? Luffy is starting to get more comfortable around Ace, mainly because they used to be brothers... so, in some sense, Luffy does, kinda remember Ace... right? **

**Well, that's it.**

**BYE!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! I live! Well… I don't know why I had to say that...**

**Aaaanywaaaayyyyy**

**Responses to:**

**Guest/Otaku-chan: I figured it was you. Bakainu is on the top of my list, fighting to keep his position with Blackbeard. *prints out a picture of the two and tears it into millions of bits and pieces***

**Valeria Aurelia: Thanks for the compliments. Luffy doesn't have his scar right now… right now. Also, I saw Thatch as one of the talkative and fun-loving commanders, so I imagined some things that he would do as the way I pictured him. Also, I read a crap load of fanfiction XD Oh, you're irish? Cool! 2: Well, I hope you haven't exploded yet… That would be bad. I don't want to kill anyone with this thing… Yeah, the promise thing reminded me of the childhood stuff.**

**FindingThatDamnedOnePiece: Me neither…**

**pietrasgiordano: I'm continuing! I LIVE! YEAH!**

**Isabelle Avalos: Update is here!**

**Thanks to everyone who favorited and followed!**

**OOOONWAAAAAARD!**

* * *

"Promise?" Luffy wiped his tears away and looked up at Ace, with wide eyes. He held up a pinky.

Ace held out his pinky too, and they locked. "Promise."

Luffy felt a rush of happiness in that word. Promise. That meant Ace was never going to disappear. He wasn't going to be left alone. Because, it was a promise. And promises couldn't be broken. Ever.

"Look Luffy, it's still night. It's going to take a few more hours till the sun is up. Let's go back to sleep." Ace patted Luffy on the head.

Luffy nodded and lied down, shifting closer to Ace. Yawning, he closed his eyes.

* * *

"Itte." Luffy flinched as Chiasa pressed the piece of cotton against Luffy's wound. Chiasa took the cotton ball away and started wrapping the fresh bandages around his side.

"So, Luffy." Chiasa suddenly said. "How do you like the family?"

"Family?" Luffy asked.

"Didn't Ace tell you?" Chiasa looked up at the confused boy. Luffy shook his head. Chiasa looked back at the wound she was wrapping. "The pirates on this ship are all part of one big family."

"I never had a family before." Luffy told her.

"You can become a part of ours." Chiasa suggested immediately. She was growing onto the kid. She enjoyed his light-hearted company. "All the commanders agreed. Besides, that island isn't the best place to put a kid." She tightened the knot in the bandage and took her hands away. Grabbing the old bandages from before, she stood up and walked over to a bin, tossing the bandages in. "You don't have to be alone anymore."

"I won't be alone?" Luffy's eyes were filled with wonder, as if it was the best thing he's ever been told.

"That's right." Chiasa washed her hands in the sink. "Because, we'll all be here."

"I like that." Luffy said.

Chiasa smiled. "You can tell Marco."

"You can tell me what, yoi?" The door opened and Marco stepped into the infirmary.

Chiasa rolled her eyes. "You're supposed to knock first, dumbass."

Marco seemingly ignored her little comment and continued. "Tell me what, yoi?"

"Luffy here, wants to join the family!" Chiasa announced.

Marco looked over at the boy, who shifted. "Are you sure you didn't just manipulate him into it, yoi?"

A vein popped out of Chiasa's forehead. "Thanks for the faith, pineapple head."

Again, Marco ignored, which made Chiasa even more furious.

"So," Marco crouched down in front of Luffy, so his eye level was the same as the kid's. "You want to join the Whitebeard Pirates, yoi?"

Luffy nodded.

"You realize that you're putting yourself in danger, joining pirates, yoi?"

Luffy nodded again.

Marco sighed. "So, you're sure about this, yoi"

Luffy nodded vigorously.

"You don't have to confirm it three times, _yoi_." Chiasa said, in a bad imitation of Marco.

Marco stood up and placed a hand on Luffy's head. "Okay, brat. Welcome to the Whitebeard Pirates, yoi."

Luffy's face lightened up with his innocent, childish smile that stretch from ears to ear. His eye sparkled with excitement. He jumped out of bed and ran towards the door. "Ace! Phoenix Guy said I could join!" He barged out the door.

"Wait, Luffy!" Chiasa called after him. "I need to give you your-"

The door slammed shut.

"... injection." Chiasa finished, too late. She sighed. "Oh well. He can wait 'till tomorrow."

"How did he know about the phoenix, yoi?" Marco turned towards Chiasa, who shrugged it off.

"He's one cute kid." She smiled.

* * *

"Ace!" Luffy knocked open the door and rushed inside.

Ace turned his head around from his desk. "What's up, Lu?"

Luffy flung himself at Ace and wrapped his arms around the older's waist, keeping him on a tight grip. "Pineapple head said I could stay."

"Marco?" Ace corrected.

"Yeah." Luffy said, rubbing his eyes. "He said I could join! Now I don't have to be alone anymore!"

Ace patted Luffy on the head. "That's great."

Luffy looked up and smiled an impossibly wide smile. Well, impossible, useless it's Luffy.

"Neh, Ace." Luffy's smiled faltered. "When are you we leaving this island?"

Ace was partly shocked at the amount of pain and maturity was in his eyes. "Well, I guess tomorrow or maybe even today, since you're coming along now." He answered.

Luffy looked down. "Good. I don't like that place." Luffy brightened up. "Okay! Ace, I'm hungry! Let's eat!"

Ace sweatdropped. "I'll never get you, Lu. You always switch the mood like it's nothing."

Luffy titled his head to the side. "What?"

Ace scratched his head sheepishly. "Nothing. Let's go to the galley and get some food."

"Okay! I get the meat!"

* * *

The news about Luffy traveled like wildfire. Soon enough, everybody has introduced themselves at least once to the little guy and welcomed him to the family. What amused Ace the most was how startled Luffy was about getting all this attention. But, the child was a hesitant in his responses and when people would pat him on the head (or something like that), he would freeze up and his eyes would widen, slightly. It was as if he was terrified of physical contact of any sort. Luffy was only most comfortable with him, Marco, or Thatch. (Thatch, probably because he fed Luffy. Marco, probably because he was the one who said he could join the "family".) Of course, Ace was the only one that noticed these things, and Marco. But, that phoenix had a good eye. Ace felt sorry for the little guy. When Chiasa said his brain was messed up from that island, it was no joke. About three hours later, Marco had ordered them to set sail. Everyone cheered and got to work. Raising the anchor, untying the sails, and taking the helm. Luffy was extremely happy to leave that island behind and start a new life with his "family".

Right now, the two were sitting on the railing. Luffy munched on a huge, leftover rice ball. (Thatch said that Luffy was a perfect trash can, which was meant to be joke. But, the poor boy didn't take it very lightly…) They just sat there on the back deck, enjoying the fresh air and the smell of the ocean.

"Ace." Luffy looked up from his half-eaten riceball. "Why do you like the ocean?"

Ace gave Luffy a look, at the sudden question. "Well, the ocean makes me feel free."

"Free?" Luffy took another small bite out of his riceball. "What does that mean?

Ace scratched his head. "Um… Who do I put this in a way you'll understand? Well, when I'm sailing on the sea, I feel free. Which means, I have control over myself. Like, I don't have anything holding me back from doing what I want."

"I get it!" Luffy smiled. "Then the sea makes me feel free, too! Shishishi!" Luffy let out his trademark laugh.

"If really feel that way." Ace answered. Luffy laughed and took another bite out of his riceball.

"Ace."

"Yeah?"

"This freedom. I like it." Luffy stated with a grin.

Ace smiled. He couldn't help but compare this child _again _to _his_ Luffy. They were so similar, yet so different at the same time.

_Are you seeing this Luffy? It's such a miracle. Maybe this is another chance for me to correct myself. What do you think, little brother?_

"Ace." Luffy tapped the older's arm.

Ace looked back at Luffy. "Hm?"

Luffy yawned a response.

Ace picked up Luffy from under the arms. "Tired?" Luffy nodded. "Lets go to my room than." He carried Luffy closed to his chest and started to walk to the stairs, that led below deck. Luffy slumped onto Ace's chest and easy fell asleep. Ace stopped in front of his door and twisted the handle. The door opened and he stepped in. Gently placing Luffy in the bed, covering his body with a blanket. The child shifted to hug the pillow his head was resting on. Ace smiled and turned to his desk. His smiled faltered.

So. Much. Damn. Paper work!

He mentally punched a wall and took a seat at his desk. If only he didn't put off his work till now. Even though it wasn't much of an excuse, _I blame my narcolepsy_.

* * *

Ace smashed his head against his desk for the thirty-sixth time. There was too much paper work. He was never going get it all done today. Not to mention, he had fallen asleep many times over the course of doing this. "How am I supposed to finish all this?" Ace turned to Luffy, who was sleeping without a care in the world. _At times like these, I wish I could be a kid again._ Ace sighed and looked out the window. It was close to evening by now. _I should probably just go eat. _Ace mused. _Well then, time to wake Luffy up._ Stood up and stretch out his arms, relieving them off their stiffness. He crouched down in front of the bed Luffy was in and shook the boy's shoulder. "Luffy, time to wake up."

Luffy opened his eyes. "I wasn't asleep." He said simply.

Ace was a bit unnerved by the fear in his voice. "Are you okay, Luffy?"

The reaction was instant. Luffy curled into a tight ball and his hands over his head. "Go away."

Ace took his hand away. "Luffy-"

"Go away." Luffy whispered. "Go away, go away, go away, go away." He repeated.

"Luffy, who are you talking to?" Ace nudged the boy again.

"Go away, go away, go away…" Tears started to form at the corners on Luffy's eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

Ace didn't know what to do. Luffy had always been like this after he woke up, but this is a little overboard. Ace didn't know what to do. So, Ace hugged him. It was the only thing he could think of.

Luffy did seem to notice as he keep repeating the phrase "I'm sorry" over and over again. After a while, Luffy let go of his head and looked up, his tears slowly vanishing. "Ace?" Ace look back at Luffy. "You don't hate me, right?"

Ace was bewildered. What would Luffy even suggest that? "Of course I don't hate you." He answered.

Luffy buried himself into Ace's chest. "You're not sad, right?"

Ace was even more perplexed by this question. "Why would I be sad?" He asked.

After a minutes of silence, Luffy finally asked, "You're my brother… right?"

…

"Of course."

"I'm glad." Luffy whispered and his eyes closed.

* * *

Ace opened the door to the galley. Everyone was messing around and partying. It was loud, as usual. Grabbing his plate, he lined up and waited to get his food. After getting his food he sat down at a table and began to eat.

"Hey, Ace!" Thatch slapped his on the back, causing Ace to choke down the meat he had in his mouth.

"Thatch~" He glared half heartedly at his friend to held his hands up in surrendering fashion.

"Oi, sorry!" Thatch said, way to happily to be a really "sorry". "Where's our little midget?" Thatch asked. He had upgraded Luffy's name seeing as how the little guy reacted to being call "trash can".

"He's in bed." Ace said, putting another spoon full of food into mouth.

"In bed?" Thatch raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you wake him up?"

"I did!" Ace explained. "But… well, how did I put this?" He tried to find a way to tell Thatch with freaking him out. "The thing is, I did wake him up. But, he kinda… freaked out…?"

Thatch gave him a questioning gaze. "What do you mean by that?"

Ace stuff another spoon full of food into his mouth. "Well, he…" Ace scratched his head. "Let's just say he was acting strange and asking me weird questions."

"O...kay…" Thatch raised an eyebrow. "So he's asleep then?"

"Yeah." Ace bit down on his chunk of meat.

"Hey, guess what I did to Fossa today." Thatch snickered, changing the subject.

Ace raised an eyebrow. "What did you do this time?"

Thatch wore his mischievous grin on. "I replaced his cigars with wood."

Ace felt an urge to facepalm at his friend's antics. "He's never going to want to smoke again, Thatch."

"I know." Thatch gave Ace a thumbs up.

Ace couldn't help but laugh. Fossa was really in for it now.

* * *

Luffy rubbed his eyes and sat up. He looked around the room. Ace wasn't there. Around this time, Luffy would have started to panic, if the door hadn't opened, relieving Ace. Luffy mental let out a huge sigh. Ace looked over to Luffy. "You're up." Luffy nodded. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah." Luffy answered. He didn't what had happened that made his so scared, but he remember the flashes of battle, and lots of blood. He faintly shook his head and looked back to Ace.

"I hope you're hungry." Ace said and relieved a delicious plate of food, mostly meat, seeing how Luffy was obsessed with it.

"Meat!" Luffy exclaimed and ran over to Ace, jumping up to try to snatch the plate from the older's hand. Ace lowered the plate and Luffy swiped it out of his hand and started dumping food into his mouth.

"Hey, you're going to choke like that." Ace warned.

"No 'M not!" Luffy swallowed all the food in his mouth. "Thanks!"

Ace took the plate and walked over to his desk. He place the plate onto the desk and stretched out. "What do you want to do?"

"Sunset!" Luffy happily exclaimed.

Oh, did that bring back memories.

"_Ace! Can we go see the sunset!"_

"Why do you want to do that, Lu?" Ace asked, smiling.

"_Why would you want to see the sunset?"_

Luffy threw his arms into the air and grin. "Because it's pretty! And, it's all orange and stuff!" He exclaimed.

"'_Cause it's pretty! And, it's all orange and stuff!"_

Ace was partly surprised by the answer. That's exactly what _his_ Luffy would have said.

Ace ruffled the boy's hair. "Okay, let's go outside."

"_Fine, let's go."_

"Yeah!" Luffy jumped up. "Ace-nii's the best!"

"_Ace is the best big brother ever!"_

"If you say so." Ace smiled and opened the door.

"_Of course I am."_

* * *

"Acey." Luffy pointed at the star-filled sky. "How many stars are in the sky?" The stars shined brightly and sparkled in the navy blue sky. The moon was full tonight and it was a beautiful sight to see. Ace was glad he was on watch tonight. Of course, Luffy refused to leave Ace and stayed with him for the night.

"I don't know, Luffy." Ace replied. "There's too many stars to actually know that."

"Really?" Luffy's eyes turned into stars themselves as he stared in wonder at the sky. "There's that many?"

"And more." Ace said. "There's an infinite amount of stars. It's pretty much impossible to count them all."

"Sugee." Luffy pointed at a certain part of the sky. "If you connect those stars, it looks like Pineapple head!"

Ace felt the urge to laugh at Luffy's nickname for Marco. Ace looked up at the sky and had to agree. That did look like Marco. "You have a good eye, Lu."

"That one looks like fire!" Luffy pointed again.

Ace smiled. Luffy adored Ace's devil fruit. Ace had told him about it when they were watching the sunset. Luffy's eyes turned to stars and he shouted, "SUGEE!" so loud that the entire crew probably heard him.

Ace pointed to another patch of stars. "That looks like you." If you connected the stars correctly, it highly resemble Luffy.

"Awesome!" Luffy jumped up. "Ace, I have my own constellation! Isn't that cool?"

"_Ace, I found my constellation!"_

"That's amazing." Ace agreed.

"_What!? Mine has to be here somewhere! This isn't fair, damn it!"_

"Ace, let's find yours! It needs to be close to mine though! 'Cause we're brothers!"

"_Ace-nii constellation has to be close to mine!"_

"Sure." Ace looked back up at the sky. Luffy started humming to keep them entertained. Luffy yawned and rubbed his eyes. "You should sleep, Lu. It's really late."

"But, we didn' the constellation." Luffy protested.

"_Ace-nii's constellation is somewhere here!"_

Ace patted the boy on the head. "We can find it some other time. You should sleep."

Luffy lied down facing the sky. His eyes slowly drifted close. "Acey…"

"Yeah?" Ace looked over.

Luffy pointed to the sky. "Found it." He stated before his arm flopped onto the wooden floor and he fell asleep.

Ace looked up into the sky and softly smiled. There he was, right next to Luffy. He finds it just now. After eleven years, after his little brother died in his arms, he finds it. How ironic.


	7. Chapter 7

**Warning: This author's note has yawns in it because *yawns* I'm really tired. And, I actually yawned where I put them, so don't blame me if it breaks into a middle of a sentence or something *yawns* like that.**

**Hey guys. I'm back. I feel like crap 'cause it's 2:00 am and I'm tired. *yawns* But I can't sleep, so being the absolute nerd I am, I'm typing a new *yawns* chappy. Please forgive me if you find any errors. I feel really *yawns* groggy. I blame my stupid sleeping habits-*narcolepsy attack***

**Responses to:**

**Otaku-chan: Yes, tumblr *yawns* is a great place for feels, but I don't use it *yawns* so I'll make you died from feels here. But, don't actually die *yawns*, kay?**

**Valeria Aurelia: Thx for the compliments. I really *yawns* appreciate it. One of the reasons I make Luffy a kid was just because he was cute. *yawns* Yeah, here's the ext chapter.**

**From this point on, the story *yawns* will start progressing more, since Luffy joined the Whitebeard *yawns* Pirates and they could finally *yawns* leave that island.**

**Oh, and throughout this story, Luffy will call Ace many things, including Acey, Ace-niichan, Ai, Ace-nii, Nii nii, etc. Luffy will call Marco, Phoenix guy, Mystery bird, Blue chicken (after *yawns* he sees the transformation), Pineapple/Pineapple head, etc. Luffy doesn't have a nickname for Thatch now, but I'll come up with something. Maybe Thatchy sometimes. Eh, maybe. We'll meet the other division *yawns* commanders later, so don't worry about that. Luffy is going to have many nicknames, so I won't bother to list them all down.**

**Oh, and clearly something up, I repeat the last lines of a chapter in a new one when the scenes are connected. When they *yawns* aren't I don't repeat the lines. Got it? Good.**

**Congrats to BlackGryphon101 for being the 100th follower. God, I don't have any enthusiasm right now. *yawns* Well, enjoy the *yawns* crap.**

* * *

"Acey." Luffy whined kicking his legs around, sitting on the railing of the ship. "When's lunch?"

Ace sighed. "We just ate breakfast, Lu." He said. "You can asked big brother Thatch if you want a snack."

"Good idea!" Luffy jumped off the railing and made a mad dash to the galley. Tripping on a loose piece of wood, he flat on his face. Ace winced at the scene, as Luffy got up again started towards the galley again, in a new goal of some comfort. All the pirates walking by smiled and moving out the way.

"He's a small ball of energy, isn't he." One of the pirate chuckled.

"That's right." Another agreed.

Ace smiled. Luffy had really started crawling out of his shell since this morning. He was more lovable as a sociable, little energy ball.

"THERE'S AN ISLAND UP AHEAD!" One of the crew mates yelled down from the crow's nest. "It looks like a town is there too! Should we dock?"

Marco's voice raised above the rest. "We should! Stock up on supplies! Get to work, yoi!"

"AYE!" All the pirates shouted and started buzzing across the deck, getting to work.

"Acey!" A voice rang across the deck and the tiny form of a seven-year old smashed into Ace. "What's going on?" The small voice squeaked in excitement.

Ace quickly recovered from the sudden attack. "We're docking at a town."

Luffy jumped up and down. "Really? What's a town like? Is there lots of people? Is it more than our brothers and sisters? Do they have big buildings? Are there other pirates there? Are the people nice?"

"Woah there, slow down, Lu." Ace stopped the boy from asking more questions. "You'll see, Luffy. We're docking in a few minutes." He assured.

"Oh, and Luffy?" Ace remembered. "Don't tell anyone your full name, got it Luffy?" Luffy nodded.

"Okay!" Luffy smiled. "Promise!"

"Good."

"Ace! Tie up the freaking sail!" Izo shouted over the crew.

Ace waved over to the 16th division commander. "Hai, hai!" Ace jumped off the railing and headed towards the ship's huge mast. Luffy followed the 2nd division commander.

"Stay here." Ace instructed to Luffy. "This will only take a few seconds." He started climbing up the mast and reached the sail in seconds. Grabbing the sail he climbed up to the yard and tied it up. He did the same to the other side and jumped down. "Told you." Ace said.

"Acey's really fast!" Luffy's eyes stared at Ace as if the older was his role model. "Do you think I can do that some day?"

Ace smiled. "If you work hard."

Luffy grinned. "I'm going to work hard and catch up to Ace-nii!"

Ace patted Luffy on the head. Luffy grinned even wider.

* * *

Luffy stared in awe as he looked around town. There was so many people. Not as much as the crew, but still, almost as much. The houses were pretty average. There wasn't anything that stood out to his eyes. There were a few stares here and there, and a market in the center of the town. People walked around the streets and chatted with each other, not paying much mind to anything else.

"Neh, Ace." Luffy tugged on the older's shorts. "Are all towns like this?"

Ace scratched his head. "Well, most towns are different. There's Mock Town, Shells Town, Orange Town, Loguetown, other places like that." Ace's mood seemed to drop a bit at the mention of Loguetown, but Luffy didn't want to pay much mind to it.

Luffy nodded and scanned the area again with his eyes.

A purple butterfly suddenly caught his attention and he started wandering away from Ace, who was talking to someone, so he could by some food. Luffy followed the butterfly for a while, trying to catch it with his hands. "Come back!" Luffy laughed and kept going after the butterfly until he reached the forest. Then, he remember what was happening. He was in a forest. He wasn't in town. He was lost. At this point, Luffy started to get a panic attack. He looked around in fear and took a step back. "Nii nii!" He screamed. "Phoenix guy? Thatch? Anyone?" Luffy ran back, but he felt like he was just going deeper and deeper into the forest. Tears started to well up at the corners of his eyes. He stopped and yelled out again. "Nii nii? Where are you?" A slightly rustling came from the bushes. "Ace?"

Then came the roar.

And the brown fur.

And then came the bear.

… Ace wasn't a bear.

Luffy stared up into the bear's eyes. In this kind of situation, Luffy would have used some of his hunter instincts. But, his island didn't have bears on it. He didn't know how to handle this kind of animal. He's only heard of bears, and you couldn't deal with them like tigers and snakes. So, Luffy did what any sane person would do. He ran. He ran as fast as his little legs could carry him. The bear growled and took a mad dash after him. Luffy soon learned that running isn't the best option against a bear. Luffy stumbled over a tree root, causing him to fall and scrape his knee on some wood. Luffy winced and got up again, starting to run. The bear was bear lunged forward, snapping its jaws around the back of Luffy's shirt, tearing a hole in the back and scaring Luffy. Luffy stumbled again, but managed to keep running. Luffy couldn't keep running like this. Soon, the bear would catch up to him. Buried in his own fear, he didn't notice what was in front of his and crashed. Earning another cut on his face from the tree branch sticking out. But that was the least of his worries. The bear corners him against the tree. The animal lift its giant paw to offered the last blow. Luffy squeezed his eyes shut. So was he going to die here? He hoped Ace and the others wouldn't cry and be sad for him. He wouldn't like that. His life must have been a lost cause a long time ago, anyway. He did care. He just didn't want anyone to be sad because of him.

It seemed like an eternity had passed after he closed his eyes. He waited for the pain. He waited for his life to end. Was death always this painfully long?

"Doesn't it seem a little unfair that a huge bear, like yourself, is attacking someone who isn't even close to your size?" A voice asked. Luffy heard the bear's claws clash with something metal. A sword, maybe. "Go away, pest. Pick on someone who can actually fight you." Luffy heard the sword enter its sheath. The bear let out a snorted and the sound of its huge paw steps faded into the undergrowth. "Kid, are you okay?" Luffy realised the man was speaking to him and quickly opened his eyes. The man old somewhere between 19 and 20 years old. He wore black trousers tucked inside black boots, a plain white shirt with three undone buttons at the collar, a black bandana tied around his left arm, and a green haramaki. He had three swords hanging at his side. A sword with a white hilt and white sheath, a sword with a black hilt and a black sheath with a weird pattern running down the side of it, And a sword with a reddish hilt and a red sheath. He had three gold earrings hanging from his left ear and cropped green hair. Luffy could see him as a marimo, just with the hair. "Kid, are you okay?" The man repeated.

Finding his voice, Luffy replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for saving me." He took a few painfully steps past the man. "If you don't mind, I need to find Niichan, before he and the others start to worry." Luffy payed no mind to the way the stranger eyed him and keep taking slow and painfully steps away. The scratch on his back was starting to sting painfully, and he opened his side wound when he was running. Chiasa had told him to not do anything that would open it. Well, too late now. As he took another step, the stranger picked him up bridal style and carried him in the opposite direction. "Hey!" Luffy tried struggling, but his body wouldn't let him. "Put me down! I need to find Nii nii!"

"No." The voice commanded. "The only thing you're finding now is a doctor, kid."

Luffy opened his mouth to object, but the stranger left no room for arguments. He let his body relaxed and he shut his eyes.

* * *

"Chopper!" Zoro shouted as he jumped aboard the Thousand Sunny. "This is an emergency!"

Sanji stepped out of the kitchen. "What is it now, Shitty Marimo?"

"Not in the mood, Dartbrow." Zoro retorted.

"What was that?!" Sanji growled.

"Shut it, you two!" Nami commanded.

"Hai, Nami-swan~" Sanji sang.

Robin chuckled.

Chopper opened the door of the infirmary and stepped out, onto the lawn of the deck. "What's wrong, Zoro?"

"I found an injured boy in the forest." Zoro started. That got the crew's attention. Nami stood up from her chair and walked over to Zoro. She studied the boy in Zoro's arms.

"He doesn't look so hurt." Nami mused.

"Someone's hurt!" Chopper ran around the grassy lawn. "Someone called the doctor!"

Robin smiled at the doctor's antics. "That's you, Doctor-san."

"Oh, right." Chopper was now in his full doctor mode. "Zoro place him on the ground. I need to check him." Zoro obeyed. Chopper started to study the body of the child. He lifted the child's arms and slowly turned the boy over. The child's side was bleeding. His back was scarred with a large scratch. By the looks of it, the side wound had been a healing wound that reopened. The two long scratches were fairly recent. He took his hooves away. There was a cut under the boy's left eye that bled lightly. It wasn't as bad, but the child was lucky he didn't lose an eye. "Take him to the infirmary. I need to treat his wounds and run some tests." He spoke calmly.

Zoro nodded. He picked up the injured boy and brought him to the infirmary.

* * *

The Strawhats continued with their daily lives.

"Nami-swan~ Robin-chwan~ Would you like something to drink, mademoiselle." Sanji gently placed the beautifully decorated wine glass with fruit and other things, on the tea-table.

"Thank you, Sanji-kun." Nami smiled.

"Thank you Cook-san." Robin smiled too.

"You're welcome, my beloved~!" Sanji sang, eyes turning to hearts.

Suddenly, the infirmary door flung open, revealing a crying reindeer. Visible tears poured down his face and he tried wiping them away, but to no avail. "He… he…" The little reindeer couldn't finish and he cried louder.

"Chopper, what's wrong?" Usopp appeared from his workshop. Franky also came out. Brook stopped playing his music and turned to the reindeer.

"He…!" The little reindeer said, loudly. "He's exactly the same!"

"What do you mean?" Nami asked, walking over to comfort the little reindeer.

"His blood type, his DNA, and everything!" Chopper sobbed. "Their all the same as Luffy!"

All the Strawhats froze. At that sentence, they all felt the pain crash over their world, once again. The same pain from a year ago.

"All…"

"...the same…"

"...as Luffy…?"

* * *

**Haha cliffy. JKJKJKJKJKJKJKJK! LOL! I love doing that. It's not over yet! ONWARD!**

* * *

"How…" Usopp stared at Chopper, with disbelieving eyes. "How is that possible? Chopper, this is a joke right? Hahaha. You don't really mean it, right? There's no way that could happen!" Everyone gave the sniper a glare, though it was half-hearted. "There's no way." Usopp whispered.

"Chopper." Zoro spoke. "Are you sure about this?" The reindeer nodded. His tears started to dry up and his eyes were slightly red. "Is he awake?"

"No, he's not." Chopper replied. "He still needs rest. His wounds are deep."

Zoro nodded. "We shouldn't act until he wakes up. Then we can get some real answers." Everyone nodded, wearily. "Good."

After that, Chopper went back into the infirmary to work on the boy. Usopp and Franky went back to their own workshops to work on new inventions and weapons. Everyone else on deck struggled to go back to normal. Zoro went back to the lookout/gym to continue his training. Nami read her newspaper for the second time, trying to get things off her mind. Robin read a book, as usual, doing well to hide her troubled expression. Brook started to play his violin again, hoping to lighten the mood with some music. Sanji returned to the kitchen, starting to make some lunch. The deck was, once again, quiet.

* * *

After an hour or so of silence, Chopper finally came out of the infirmary. "Guys! He's finally wake!" He shouted, cheerily.

"Really?" Usopp barged out of his workshop and looked down below. "I'm coming down!"

Franky appeared from below deck and onto the lawn. Sanji came out of the kitchen. Zoro stopped his training and climbed down from the lookout. Nami put down her newspaper and stood up from her chair. Robin shut her book and did the same. All the Strawhats started to gather around the infirmary door.

"Wait out here for a minute." Chopper ordered. They did. Chopper gently shut the infirmary door. The reindeer walked towards the bed. The child lied down in the bed. The blankets neatly lied over him. "Hi." Chopper started. "I'm Chopper. You're in the infirmary of the Strawhat Pirates. I'm the doctor."

"Um. Hi." The child replied. "Thanks for helping me, Chopper. But, I'd really like to find Niichan and the others." The boys tried to get up, but Chopper gently pushed him back down.

"You're in no condition to be moving. You need rest."

The child's face faulted. "But, if I don't go back soon, they'll get worried!"

"It's okay." Chopper assured. "When you're healed, you can go back. For now though, I need you here, so you can recover." The child could only nod, in dismay. "Would you mind, telling me your name?"

"Ace-nii said I shouldn't tell." The child whispered.

"Ace?" Chopper asked. "Portgas D. Ace of the Whitebeard Pirates?"

The child lightened up. "Yeah! That's Ace-nii."

A pause.

"Can you at least tell me your first name?" Chopper urged.

The child shook his head. "I promised."

Chopper sighed. "Okay." He replied, softly. "Make sure you get so rest, okay? You can call me if you need anything. I'll be outside the door for a bit." And, the reindeer made his leave.

* * *

Luffy was scared. For the first time on a while, he was absolutely terrified. He was on an enemy ship. He was in danger. They might hurt him. Who knew what would happen? Something bad could happen to him. They could throw him overboard. Or, they can sail away and leaving him at a scary island. What if he was never going to see Nii nii ever again. _Their not going to do that._ A voice in his mind said. _He's Chopper. He's not mean._ Luffy shook his head. _What do I know about Chopper anyway?_ Luffy asked the voice. _He was your doctor, remember? He was the best doctor anyone could have._ Luffy's mind flash with the image of a crying reindeer, clinging to someone's pant leg. Luffy grabbed his head in pain and curled into a bed. He blocked his ears with his arms and squeezed his eyes shut. _I don't know him. He's a stranger. He's an enemy. He's not my doctor. Chiasa's my doctor. She's the best doctor that I could ever have. I don't know him… Yes, you do._ The voice said gently. _You have to remember. You know him. You hand choose him._ Luffy shook his head. _No, I didn't. He's an enemy. I can't trust him. I can't trust anyone beside my family. Ace-nii and the others are my family. They are the only people I can trust._ Luffy tried convincing himself. _Stop fighting yourself. You have to remember. Please._ Luffy shook his head. _I refuse. I'm happy with what I have. I don't need any fake memories. _The voice disappeared.

After a while, "OI, SHITHEADS!" I voice shouted. "TIME TO EAT!" Then, "Nami-swan~! Robin-chwan~! I made a beautiful lunch for you to enjoy~!"

"Coming!" A crowd replied. The door opened. "Excuse me," Chopper appeared. "Would you like to eat?"

Luffy shot up. "Yeah! I'm hungry!"

Chopper chuckled. "Okay, it's time to eat. Do you need help?" Luffy shook his head and jumped off the bed. Chopper smiled. "Follow me."

* * *

Chopper opened the door to the kitchen. "This is the kitchen. We're eating here." Luffy nodded. Everyone eyed the pair. Six of the Strawhats sat at the table. The green haired man who saved him, a beautiful woman with bright orange hair, a man with curly hair and long nose, a skeleton with an awesome afro, a cool looking cyborg, and a pretty woman with dark hair. A man with a swirly eye brow and yellow hair stood next to the table, placing the last dish in the middle. Luffy entered the room and waved, nervously.

"Hi." He said, simply.

"Hi!" the orange haired woman, the long nose man, cyborg, skeleton, and the man with the yellow hair welcomed. The green haired man didn't react and the dark-haired woman smiled.

Chopper pulled him towards the table. "Come on!" Luffy followed. Chopper jumped up onto a seat. "Sit here!" Chopper pointed at the chair next to him. The boy climbed onto the chair.

"Hello." The orange-haired woman waved. "I'm Nami. I'm the navigator of this ship."

"I'm Franky!" Franky said. "I'm the super~ shipwright!"

"I'm Usopp!" Usopp pointed at himself with his thumb. "I'm the sharp shooter!"

"Yohohoho!" The skeleton laughed. "I'm Brook. I'm the musician. Nice to meet you!"

"Why, hello." The dark-haired woman smiled. "My name is Robin. I'm the archaeologist."

"The name's Sanji." Sanji introduced. "I'm the cook."

"I'm Zoro." Zoro said plainly. "I'm the swordsman."

Luffy waved. "Hi, nice to meet you." He murmured.

"Okay!" Sanji declared. "Let's eat!" All the Strawhats cheered and dug in. Luffy remembered his manners and ate with his fork and knife, unlike usual. There were a few odd things that he noticed. Nami jabbed her fork into the table in annoyance that it just got stuck in the table. Brook stuffed his face with as many forks as possible, as if his life depended on it. Chopper sucked up his noodles in huge gulps, looking like he was going to choke at any moment. Franky had his guard up, using his arm to protect his plate. Sanji smacked something near Robin's plate, and growled. Usopp had some hot sauce in his hand and he stuffed his face, ready to pour hot sauce on the meat in his dish. Zoro smashed his hand into the table, as if he were squashing a fly. Robin sprouted arms on the table and they looked like they were grabbing something. (Of course, Luffy thought that was absolutely awesome). There was suddenly a pause and all the Strawhats facepalmed and sweatdropped (except for Robin, of course). "Not again." They said in union (except Robin).

"Looks like we did it again." Robin commented. Luffy looked at them.

"Sorry about that." Nami looked towards Luffy and apologized. "We're still not used to eating without our captain."

Luffy felt a pain in his heart at that statement, but ignored it. "It's okay." He finished the rest of his food. "Thanks for the food." He yawned. "It was good."

"Sanji's cooking is amazing." Nami replied.

Sanji started turning to noodles and his eyes turned into hearts. "I'm glad you approve, Nami-swan~!"

Luffy jumped off the chair.

"Let me help you to the infirmary." Chopper jumped off his chair as well. "You should rest."

Luffy nodded gratefully and allowed the little reindeer to guide him out the door and to the infirmary.

_Our crew is the best, right?_ Luffy froze. The voice was back.

"Are you okay?" Chopper asked, concerned.

_Go away. _Luffy thought. _You're just a liar. You're not Nii nii. You're, not Marco. You're not Thatch. You're not my brothers and sisters. Go away. _He urged the voice. _I'm begging you to remember! Zoro was our first mate. He was our swordsman! Nami was our navigator! She loves tangerines and money! Remember? Usopp was our sharpshooter and liar! He was our best friend! Sanji was our cook! He always made amazing food and wouldn't let us waste a single drop of it! Chopper was the doctor that would always scream for one and would dance around when we complimented him!_ Luffy curled into a tight ball and held his head. _No, go away. Go away, go away, go away, go away, go away._

"What's wrong?" Chopper asked, in panic. "Where are you in pain? I can help!"

_You're wrong!_ Luffy argued. _Marco is firstmate. Namur's the navigator. Izo's the sharpshooter. Thatch is the cook. Chiasa is the doctor!_ Luffy told himself. _Robin was our archeologist! Franky was our shipwright! Brook was our musician! We're all brothers and sisters! We're family!_

"Zoro! Help me carry him to the infirmary!" Chopper shouted.

_Marco, Ace, Thatch, Namur, Izo, Curiel, Jozu, Vista, Blamenco, Rakuyo, Blenhiem, Kingdew, Haruta, Atmos, Speed Jiru, Fossa, and the rest of them are my brothers and sisters! The Whitebeard Pirates are my family! You're wrong! Just go away! _The voice sighed. _Why? You're me, yet you don't want to. I'll wait. I'll wait until you listen me yourself. _Luffy felt someone scoop him up, against their chest and started carrying him away. _I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…_ Luffy had no energy left to argue. He just keep repeating the phrase in hopes that the voice would forgive him with anything he did wrong and just go away. He finally felt how many tears were streaming down his face. Had he been crying this whole time? He couldn't tell. Luffy was gently placed on something soft (possibly a bed) and some covers were pulled over his shoulders. He still repeated that same phrase in his head, so the voice wouldn't come back again. Without knowing so, he cried himself to sleep.

_No, I'm sorry._

* * *

**There you *yawns* have it. That's a rap. YEAH! It's 3:48 am. I'm probably uploading this later. Like, in the morning. Or night. Whatevs. I finally introduced the Strawhats. The dinner was just to show how they were affected by their captain's death, even after a year.**

**Now, why did *yawns* Luffy react like that? Well, here's what I think. Ace was someone dear to Luffy. You saw all those nightmares and things that happened to Luffy when he was with Ace. Well, Ace was only one person. If Luffy acted like that to seeing one person he cared about, he'll have a huge *yawns* mental breakdown if he saw eight of them in at the same time.**

**Also, the voice is talking to him, so that messes *yawns* his brain up more, cause he's refusing.**

**Anyway, that's all I have to say. BYE- *narcolepsy attack***


	8. Chapter 8

**Oh god! GUYS GUYS GUYS! I PUT THE WRONG CHAPTER FOR #8! ARGH! THANK YOU FIRESPIRITS27 FOR TELLING ME! I'M SORRY!**

**Hi guys! I'm not tired anymore! YEAH! Wow, you guys really liked that last chapter. I got 11 reviews! I don't know if that's good in fanfiction standards, but that's pretty damn good to me! **

**Responses to: **

**I-Write-Terrible-Stories: Your username is hilarious! XD Had to get that out. Glad you liked it. Hope you don't die of a shattering heart!**

**FindingThatDamnedOnePiece: Yes, the cliffy. MWAHAHAHAHA!**

**Blueh: You're welcome! I really like your stories. I hope you update Unexpected Emergencies soon! Thx for the compliments. Little Luffy is adorable.**

**WingsofaBell: Are you still dying? I hope not. I don't want people to die. Yep, the crew is together again! Woohoo!**

**Nurofen: Glad you like it! And, I will get some sleep.**

**Diver91: You're welcome and Thx!**

**asldkh: I do need more sleep. I stay up to long reading and being an anime addict… **

**Lover's Red Rose: Yeah, poor Luffy.**

**Pinkus-Puno: I knew learning spanish wasn't a waste! And, my parents told me that it was useless. Showed them! Anyway… Thx and here's the next chapter!**

**Otaku-chan: Lol. As long as you don't die. Sorry 'bout the yawning. It's contagious. Wow, laser tag? I haven't play that in 2 years. I miss it. 2: My iPod sometimes does that. It's so annoying! Yes, summer holidays are terrible.**

**Michu-92: I know, poor Luffy.**

**Valeria Aurelia: I'm really glad you like my story so much! I will take better care of myself. I can't leave me reader hanging. The cover… I'll leave that for you to figure out. I feel humbled by your bows. Here's the update! Congrats on being my 50th review!**

**Here we go, self promotion. I uploaded a story called A Taste Of Your Own Medicine. The summary is pretty crappy, but then again, all my summaries are crappy, so check it out! I'm so terrible at self promotion… **

**Before I start this chapter, I have to say sorry.**

… **Anyway, here's the next chapter!**

**Anyway, OOOOOOOONWAAAAAAAAAAAARD!**

* * *

_Where am I?_ Luffy looked around. He tilted his head to his side and saw the familiar equipment of the infirmary. _Oh, I'm in the infirmary. _He thought.

"You're awake!" A cheerful voice exclaimed. "I glad!"

Luffy shifted onto his side. "Chopper?"

"I right here." Chopper assured. "Are you in pain? Do you need anything?" Luffy shook his head.

"What happened?" Luffy asked, sitting up.

Chopper shuffled his feet. "You see, when we were walking to the infirmary, you suddenly froze. When you curled up in pain and started crying. I didn't know what to do. Zoro helped me carry you back here. You slept from yesterday lunch to today evening."

Luffy nodded. "Thanks for taking care of me."

"You bastard!" Chopper dances around the infirmary. "Don't think simple compliments with make me happy, dumbass!"

Luffy giggled. _I'm glad I get to see Chopper again._ The voice in his head whispered, almost sounding like crying. _He's funny, isn't he?_ Luffy glared inwardly. _Go away._ He thought. _Sorry._ The voice said. Luffy felt a little guilty for his hostility, but he didn't need a stupid voice in his head.

"Oh, by the way." Chopper returned to normal. "Our crew knows Portgas D. Ace." He told Luffy. "He's our captain's older brother."

Luffy tilted his head. "Older brother?" He thought from a moment. It wasn't until his face was as red as a tomatoes and steam radiated off his tiny face that he finally exclaimed in realization, "Oh! You mean Ace's little brother that's also named Luffy? Acey told me about him! I almost forgot!" Luffy didn't really pay attention, but he was certain that he heard the voice in his head facepalm.

Chopper smiled. "Yeah! Our captain's name is Lu- Wait," Chopper cut himself off. "What do you mean by 'also named Luffy'?"

Luffy covered. His mouth. "Well, um. Acey said I couldn't tell." Luffy looked to his left.

"You can tell me." Chopper said. "We're friends with Ace and the Whitebeard Pirates, so there's nothing wrong."

"Well, you see." Luffy rubbed the back of his neck. "My name is Luffy, too."

Chopper stared. Then, "What!?" The little reindeer shouted. "So, Ace has two siblings named Luffy!?"

"No, no, no." Luffy stopped the exploding reindeer's thoughts. "Ace and the others saved me from an island I was living on. I became his brother only a few days ago."

"So he named you?" Chopper looked down at the ground. His voice was dark. Almost accusing.

"That's not it at all!" Luffy panicked. He didn't want someone to get mad at Ace because they got the wrong idea. "I was born with my name! I've had it my entire life!"

"Oh." Chopper calmed down. "Well, are you happy with how you are, now?"

Luffy nodded. "Yeah! I have a family! Thousands of brother and sisters! I'm not alone anymore!" He grinned.

"That's good." Chopper whispered. "Do you want any food? We just finished eating dinner."

"Wait what?" Luffy froze. The gears in his mind turned rapidly. "I missed 6 of my meals!"

"You counted five a day!" Chopper shouted. His face suddenly drooped and he shuffled his feet. "I'll go tell Sanji to make you something. Wait." And he left.

* * *

Chopper couldn't stop crying as he got his distance from the infirmary. Seeing that boy had made his heart tear itself in two again. He sat on the grassy lawn of the Sunny, crying his eyes out. Nami stood up from her seat and walked over to Chopper. She kneeled down next to the crying reindeer and loosely wrapped her arms around his tiny body.

"I'm s-sorry." Chopper sniffled. "I just… miss him so much." The reindeer sniffled again and leaned against Nami.

"I know." Nami gaved him a sad smile. "Well all do. But, Luffy wouldn't like it if we kept mourning over him. We have to be strong. Right?'

Chopper gave her a grateful looked and nodded. "Right." He wiped his tears away with his arms and stood up. "I'll go ask Sanji if he can make some food for Luffy."

Nami raised an eyebrow. "Food for Luffy?"

Chopper nodded. "I found out that that child's name was also Luffy."

It didn't take a genius to tell that Nami was utterly stunned. "So, Ace has another brother named Luffy?" Anger overcame her feature and she balled up her fists. "How dare he try to replace his little brother with another child! Has he finally lost his mind?!"

"Nami! You've got it all wrong!" Chopper cut in. "That child's name _is_ Luffy! Ace didn't give it to him! He was born with it!"

Nami seemingly calmed down. Her eyes lost her fierceness and she relaxed again. "I see." She muttered. Chopper sighed. "Well, I need to get some food." And he walked off.

* * *

It was early in the morning when Nami called a meeting for at the Strawhats. "We've got a few things to talk about." She slammed a map down on the dining table. "We need to be at the next island soon, or the log pose will reset." All the Strawhats nodded. "But, we have a passenger onboard. We need to find the Whitebeard Pirates ASAP or this will mess up all our plans. On top of that, we don't know a thing about where Marco is, and we don't have a number to call him with a Den Den Mushi. She pulled out a red marker and drew an X on an island. "We're here." She said. "Our destination is still a few days away." Nami circle another island on the map. "Chopper, how long until the kid heals up."

"A few day until he's fully recovered." Chopper answered.

"We don't have time to wait for that, because if I'm right, we're already two days off schedule. We need to set sail _now_. So, the only thing that I can think of is if we somehow meet up with Marco on the way, we can return the kid. Or, we need to keep him on the ship for awhile."

"Nami-swan~ is so smart!" Sanji squealed.

"Shut it, ero-cook." Zoro muttered.

"What was that, marimo!?" Sanji grabbed the collar of the swordsman's shirt.

"You heard me." Zoro retorted.

Nami facepalmed. "Shut it, you two!" She shouted.

"Yes, my beloved~" Sanji sang. Zoro muttered something under his breath, but stopped.

Robin took a sip of her tea. "Navigator-san. Is it settled?" She asked.

Nami looked at the rest of the Strawhats. "Is it settled?" All that Strawhats nodded. "Good."

"I'll go ask Luffy if he's okay with it." Chopper hopped out of his chair.

All the Strawhats gave him a look of confusion (except for Nami). "Ask Luffy?"

"I forgot to tell you!" Chopper said. "That child's name is Luffy."

"WHAT!?" All of them shouted (except for Nami and Robin). Robin looked quite dark at the statement.

"You guys have it all wrong!" Chopper panicked. "Ace didn't give him his name, he's had it his entire life!"

"Oh." All the tension in the air melted away and Nami and Chopper sighed. "Well, I'm going to go ask Luffy."

* * *

Luffy felt something shake his shoulder and he rubbed his eyes.

"Luffy."

Luffy looked around. "Ace?"

"No, it's Chopper." Luffy turned his head to see Chopper standing in front of the bed. "I need to ask you something, Luffy. You mind sitting up?"

Luffy shook his head and sat up. "What is it, Chopper?"

"Well, our crew is kind of behind schedule and we need to set sail. We need you to come with us until we find Marco and the others, since we don't have much time until the log poses reset. Is thatokay?"

Luffy stared blankly at him. Was he supposed to travel with these pirates until he found his brother? What if something bad happened? _These guys are friends with the Whitebeard Pirates._ Luffy told himself. _They wouldn't harm me._

"Okay. I'll go."

* * *

**Yeah… not my best chapter. It's pretty short too, cause I accomplished what I wanted to do in the chapter. But, I will be back with a better one soon! Luffy and the crew are back together! On the sea of adventures! This is only the beginning! Luffy will have to go through a lot more crazy shit after this!**

**Anyway, BYE!**


	9. Chapter 9

**HEY GUYS! I'M BACK!**

**FireSpirits27: DUDE! THANK YOU! I would have confused some many other people because of that mistake. Lol.**

**WingsofaBelle: Thx! And, here is the chapter you requested! Luffy doesn't have his rubber powers, but he still sucks at swimming.**

**Keirra: Wow. And, here is your requested chapter! Thatch has a small part in this, but I still love having his around. It loosens things up, ya' know? Glad you like that.**

**Otaku-chan: O_O… that's a lot of points. My little brother is like that. A ninja. But I'm the badass one. Ah~ self-esteem. It's great.**

**FindingThatDamnedOnePiece: Updated!**

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**bookworm235: I still want to acknowledge your review though XD Thx!**

**bloodyrose: Your username matches my sister XD Just had to say that. A simple nice review. I like it.**

**TrafalgarLawxKikoku: I would get mad if they named someone after Luffy too. We'll see what Ace is doing.**

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**pinkus-pyon: Here's what happens next!**

**Woah. That's a lot of reviews! Here's the chapter!**

Ace did what any sane person would have done. He panicked. Actually, panicking was an understatement. His little brother was missing. He freaked. Actually, many words could describe Mr. Portgas over here. But, that list would have gone a mile. Maybe even more. Ace clinged to Marco's leg as he was dragged across the grassy ground of the forest. "I lost him! Oh god, how could I be so stupid!" Ace was already fake sobbing.

Marco rolled his eyes in annoyance. "You've been telling yourself that for 10 minutes now, Ace. We're going to find him, yoi! Now, get up and walk like any normal person would do, yoi."

Ace's face turned back to normal. "But, this is fun."

"God damnit, yoi!" Marco facepalm.

Thatch snickered. "He got you this time, Marco. You can't deny that."

"Where could he be?" Ace returned to his whining.

"You sound like someone's distressed mother." Thatch joked.

"Marco's the mother hen here." Ace said.

"What!" Marco shouted.

"And, he's a phoenix!" Ace continued, smirking inside. "It's perfect!"

"You're the mother, yoi!" Marco growled.

Ace made a shark smirk. "Just keep telling yourself that, Marco. Just keep telling yourself that."

"Go jump into the ocean, yoi." Marco grumbled.

"So horrible, Marco!" Thatch smirked. "That's no way for the 'Mother Hen' to act!"

"Thatch, I will murder you too, yoi." Marco threatened.

"Such violence, Marco!" Thatch joked. "You're going to turn Luffy into a monster when he grows up!"

"You can shut up now, yoi!" Marco shouted. Thatch and Ace started laughing.

"I'm still clinging to your leg, Marco." Ace added with a straight face, earning a groan from the older man.

There was a rustle in the bushes, causing the three commanders to quiet down. A teen finally appeared. He looked angry. "Stupid bear." He muttered under his breath. The teen turned towards Marco, Ace and Thatch and sweat-dropped after staring for a while. **(To give you a mental image, you're just walking along and suddenly you see two guys, and the third is clinging to one of the other's legs.)** Marco, Ace, and Thatch all stared back comically. Either the air pressure dropped, or it was just them. The teen regained him composer. "Can I...uh, help you?"

Ace shot up, his cheeks were burning out of embarrassment. He didn't think someone would be in this stupid forest. Well, too late now. "Yeah, we're looking for someone. He's short, with black hair. He's wearing a red shirt and black shorts. He looks about 4 or 5 years old."

"Um…" The teen thought for a moment. "Oh! I think I saw someone like that on a ship. They left this morning..."

"What!?" All three commanders shouted.

"Why are you looking for him?" The teen asked.

"He's our little brother!" They all screeched.

"Let's go, maybe we can find them, before it's too late!" Ace charged back towards the ship.

"Hey, Ace!" Thatch called and ran after him, with Marco following close behind.

* * *

As soon as Ace jumped onto the ship he yelled, "RAISE THE ANCHOR! UNTIE THE SAILS! WE HAVE A LITTLE BROTHER TO FIND!"

* * *

"Nah, Chopper." Luffy sat on the edge on his bed. "Can I go on the deck?"

Chopper smiled. "Sure! Why not? Just make sure not bug Zoro. He doesn't like it when he's training or napping."

"So, basically, all the time." Luffy grinned and let out a giggle.

"You could say that." Chopper grinned back. "Okay, you can go now."

"Thanks, Chopper!" Luffy jumped off the bed. "You're the best."

Tears started to form in the corners of Chopper's eyes and he dance around his room. "Complimenting me doesn't mean you'll make me happy, bastard!" He said. Luffy giggled and headed out the door. The first thing that happened when he turned the corner was bumping into someone. Not a good start. Luffy fell on his butt and faced he had bumped into. It was Nami. She had fallen too and maps were scattered across the wooden floor.

"Sorry!" Luffy started to pick all the maps up.

Nami smiled. "It's okay. You didn't mean to." She started to pick up her maps too.

Luffy handed all the maps he had picked up to Nami. "You're a good drawer, Nami!" Nami flinched slightly at the comment. "Nami, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just fine!" Nami smiled.

"Why are you not smiling right then?" Luffy asked.

"What are you talking about?" Nami asked.

"Ace makes that smile when he's sad." Luffy said. "It looks the same. Nami, why are you sad?"

Nami stared at him for a moment. She placed a hand on Luffy's head. "You remind me so much of him." She stood up and walked away. Luffy stared after the navigator.

* * *

"You _LOST_ him!?" Chiasa screamed at a poor fire user.

"It's not my fault!" Ace held his hands up in surrender. "I just looked away for a second and then he disappeared!"

"You _lost_ him." He wasn't sure, but Ace could have sworn the nurse's eyes were glowing red. Chiasa pulled out a huge scalpel out of thin air and pointed it at Ace. "Now, stay still and let me dissect you." She put on a freaky smirk.

* * *

"How did she take it, yoi?" Marco looked down at his friend, who was lying in the wooden deck, panting.

"Let's *gasp* just say *gasp* she went *gasp* all demon mode *gasp* on me." Ace answered. The two men sighed.

* * *

"Zoro~" Luffy watched the swordsman swing a huge weight down, like a sword and lift it up again. "I'm bored. Do you ever do something besides training?"

"If you got a problem, then go find someone else to bother." Zoro mumbled through holding a weight in his mouth.

"Hey, Zoro!" Luffy suddenly exclaimed. "How did you become part of the crew?"

"Huh?" Zoro turned around. "Why would you want to know that?"

"'Cause I'm bored!" Luffy whined. "There's nothing to do, so tell me."

Zoro went back to swinging his training weight. "Luffy saved me from execution."

"Really!?" Luffy's eyes sparkled with golden stars. "That's so cool! What was the execution like? Were their lots of people? What happened while he was saving you?"

"You ask a lot of questions, brat." Zoro mumbled. "Why is a 5-year-old like you asking about execution?"

"I'm not 5, jerk! I'm 7!" Luffy jumped up.

"7?" Zoro swung his weight down again. "How can someone your size be 7?"

"I was born small, bastard!" Luffy shouted.

Zoro paid no mind to the child's insult. "How can someone so small have such an ego?" He muttered under his breath.

"Neh, Zoro?" Luffy titled his head. "What's 'ego'? Can I eat it?"

Zoro almost whacked himself in the face with his training weight in an attempt to facepalm.

* * *

The crew could already feel the air pressure drop. The Whitebeard's have only been sailing for a few minutes and they already realized how dull the atmosphere was. They couldn't deny it. Luffy had changed life on the Moby Dick. Whether they liked it or not, it was a solid fact. Now that LUffy wasn't there, they felt like a huge chunk of their lives had just been ripped out. Around this time, someone would be chasing the child around for raiding the kitchen. Most notably, Thatch. Then, a few minutes later, the cook would start to drag Luffy back to the kitchen to clean everything up. Then, there would be another wild goose chase to get the boy into the bathtub, so they can wash him. The crew was still lively! _Very_ much lively, but they still felt like something was missing. It wasn't a very good feeling either. They had to find Luffy soon, before something bad happened.

But, Ace missed a small detail…

He didn't ask which ship it was.

So here they were, drifting on the ocean, trying to find a little brother who was stuck on the ship of WHO KNOWS WHAT. Of course, Chiasa had almost dissected him. Of course, Marco had whacked him. Of course, he had learned the meaning of pain. But, they had better things to do than tortured the poor fire user. They had a brother to find. And, damn. He was hard to find.

* * *

"... And then, I smashed him with my 4 ton hammer! He stood no chance against me!" Usopp exclaimed proudly.

"Wow!" Luffy said is awe. "Your so cool, Usopp!"

"The Great Captain Usopp never backs down!" Usopp boasted.

Luffy's eyes shone. "What else have you done?"

"Well, there was this one time…" Usopp continued his stories and Luffy continued to marvel at his idol's workings.

"You took down the biggest Sea King in the world!?" Luffy gasped. "Was it scary?"

"Maybe for normal people." Usopp said. "But, the beast was no match for my Firebird Star!"

"So cool!" Luffy's eyes turned to stars. "Are you really the best sniper in the world?"

"You bet!" Usopp placed a fist on his chest. "There's nothing that I can't shoot!"

* * *

"Brook~" Luffy sat on the railing of the ship, next to the skeleton. "Do you know when the next island is coming up?"

"I'm afraid not, Luffy-san." Brook answered. "You need to ask Nami-san about that, Yohohoho!"

"Oh." Luffy swung his feet back and forth. "Brook, can you play a song?"

"Yohohoho! Of course!" Brook grabbed his violin bow and placed it on the strings of his violin. "I shall play you a classic sang by pirates long ago." He moving the bow along the strings and started playing a tune. Luffy brightened up. It was Binks' Sake!

Luffy started to whisper, "Yo-hohoho, yo-hohoho. Yo-hohoho, yo-hohoho…"

Brook looked at him in surprise. "You know this song, Luffy-san?" He asked, while playing.

Luffy nodded and grinned. "Nii nii sang it to me a few times! I like it."

"Ace-san?" Brook asked. Luffy nodded. "You must feel very lucky to have such a great brother."

"Yep!" Luffy started to hum again.

"Yohohoho!"

* * *

Ace was literally pulling at his hair. He lied lazily on his bed and turned onto his side. Where was his little brother? He swore, he was going to kill those bastards that took Luffy. What the heck was Luffy thinking, anyway? Did he really think it was a good idea to go off with someone random people? He needed to whack that kid upside the head when they got him back. Ace really needed to burn that ship though. They take his brother, he takes they're ship. Fair trade right? Well, Luffy was worth more than a ship… How about a few thousand beli while he was at it. He'd have to ask Marco about this one. Screw 1st mate's orders! He could do whatever he wanted! He was going to teach these people a lesson! Don't mess with family, or get incinerated. It was a simple fact.

* * *

"Neh, Robin." Luffy looked over the archeologists shoulder. "What are you reading?"

"I'm reading a book called 'The Rainbow Mist'." Robin closed the book and slid it on the table, towards Luffy. "It about a man and his recording of his adventures."

"Sugee~" Luffy eyed the book curiously. "Neh, Robin… how do you read?"

Robin's eyes widened. "You can't read, Luffy-san?"

Luffy shook his head. "I spent most of my life on this dumb island, so I never learned."

Robin opened her book. "How about I teach you?"

"Really!?" Luffy's eyes shone. "You're going to teach me?" Robin smiled and nodded. "Yosh! Let's start!"

Robin chuckled. "So, let's start with the names and sounds of letters. This one is a 'S'…"

Luffy grinned as Robin explained this letters to him.

* * *

"Franky, Franky..." Luffy sat on a stool in the cyborg's workshop.

"What is it, Luffy-bro?" Franky asked.

"I like your name, Franky!" Luffy grinned. "Do you want to trade, Franky?"

Franky laughed. "I like my name too, bro! And, not to mention some people with try to fry my ass if I had the name Luffy, OW!"

"Oh!" Luffy laughed. "Okay! What are you making, Franky?"

"Just a few minor adjustments to Sunny's cannon." Franky said. "She's going to a superior range again other ships after I added these parts."

"Sugee~" Luffy whispered as he stared at Franky's work. "Neh, Franky. What does that do?"

"This? Well, it…"

And, Luffy listened.

* * *

"Nami-swan~ Robin-chwan! I've cooked up a fantastic dinner for you to enjoy!" Sanji sang with glee. Then added, "OI! SHITHEADS! COME AND EAT!"

"Food!" Luffy exclaimed and he made a dash into the galley.

"Nami-swan~ Robin-chwan~" Sanji sang. "I made this dinner with all my love!"

Zoro rolled his eyes. "I bet it won't taste good then…"

Sanji grabbed the marimo by the shirt. "If you don't like it, then don't eat it, marimo!"

"You wanna fight!?" Zoro pulled out two of his swords.

"I can kick your ass, any day!" Sanji raise a leg. You could practically see the fire raging off of them.

"Break it up, you two." Nami sighed and pushed them out of the way. As soon as everyone got seated, Sanji presented them his "Dinner of Love". The usually routine happened, except it worked. Nami jabbed her fork into the table. The big surprised was, she actually caught something. Or someone.

"Nami!" Luffy whined and blew on his hand, with fork marks now on it. Nami and the others stared dumbly at him. Did that just happen? "You didn't have to stabbed me!"

"I…" Nami stared at the boy. Luffy pouted and rubbed his hand.

"Can I have your meat, Nami?" Luffy asked.

Sanji was the first to snap out of it. "Of course not! Don't steal food from a lady!" Zoro rolled his eyes, but said nothing.

"My, my." Robin giggled.

Usopp laughed. "You really got him, Nami."

Luffy looked at Chopper. "Chopper, can I have some?"

"No way!" Chopper shielded his food from the boy's grasps. "Eat your own food! This is mine!" He literally inhaled his food as fast as possible.

Usopp was still ready to dump hot sauce on his steak. A little dripped onto it. Little to his knowledge, Luffy had taken his steak as he was about to bring it to his mouth with a fork.

"MMHH!" Luffy quickly drank all the water from his glass and banged on his chest. "My chest it burning!" He cried. Usopp stared dumbly at the place his steak was supposed to be. Then to Luffy. Then back again. "Usopp! What kind of hot sauce is that!?" Luffy demanded, glaring.

Usopp snapped out of it. "That'll teach you to not take food from the Great Usopp-sama!" He stated with pride.

"Stingy!" Luffy pouted, stuffing a chunk of food into his mouth.

The dinner continued with laughing, talking, and smiles. New life was found. They all felt it. A simple dinner had brought it back. The crew's new light started to burn. It burned proud.

* * *

**AAAAAANDDD~ DONE! You guys are AMAZING! Each and every one of you! The last chapter got the most love out of all of them! And, I didn't even think it was that good! Thx guys! You warm my heart.**


	10. Chapter 10

**(I'm putting review responses at the bottom from now on)**

**HEY YOU GUYS~! I'm back! Sorry it took so long. I didn't start typing until three days after my last chapter. I was in jail for a bit. Actually, that was a joke, but I went somewhere almost was bad. Camp. Sooo boring! There's nothing good to do there. It all stupid stuff and I couldn't even stay up overnight. Not to mention there was no internet, so I couldn't type DX So it was pretty much torture for a person like me.**

**ANYWAYS! That's enough of my camp experience.**

**ONWARD!**

* * *

"Make sure you keep that Den Den Mushi with you, yoi!" Marco called from the railing.

Ace waved back. "I will!"

"Don't forget to update us, yoi!"

"I won't!" Ace assured. "Don't worry so much, Marco! I'll be fine!"

Marco huffed. "We're counting on you , yoi. So, don't let us down!"

"I got it!" Ace powered the boat with his devil fruit and set off. _Luffy. Where are you?_

* * *

"Zoro~ Zoro~!" Luffy giggled. "Zoro, did you get us lost?"

"It's not called being lost." Zoro flushed. "It's called… mild displacement…"

Luffy grinned and giggled again. "Zoro got us lost!" Right now, Zoro and Luffy were walking around in a forest with trees almost as tall as Sabaody. It was light and the trees were more loosely scattered than together. The Sunny had docked at a cliff around a few minutes ago and Luffy decided to join the group of Nami, Zoro, and Chopper. But sadly, Zoro had made a wrong turn and Luffy had followed him. Now, they were so-called "mildly displaced" and Zoro refused to admit that he got them lost. Besides, Zoro wasn't lost. It was the others who didn't go the right way, not him. He just went straight. _I think…_

"Zoro…" Luffy whispered. "I don't like this island."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Luffy shrugged and kept walking, his bangs shadowing his eyes. "I don't know. I just want to go as soon as possible." There was a pause. "It reminds me of somewhere I don't like." Zoro didn't push on the subject. He wasn't one to get in someone's personal space. It might look like that island Luffy had been stranded on. Luffy had told them how scary and lonely it was.

Luffy on the other hand was unnerved. This island looked too much like that island in his dream. Sa… So… Sabaody Archipeligo? Or was it Achipelago? Luffy didn't remember, but it made him nervous. He remembered seeing people who looked like Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, and Brook disappear, and he couldn't do a thing. He just wanted to go. "Can we find the ship now?" He asked. He really needed to get away from here. His instincts were telling him that something was going to happened. And, it probably wasn't a good thing.

"Yeah," Zoro kept walking. "We're probably close anyway."

Luffy yawned and nodded. His foot steps getting sloppy. "Zoro… I'm tired."

Zoro looked down at Luffy. "What do you want me to do about it?"

Luffy was silent for a moment. "Can you carry me…?"

Zoro was about to object, but made a huge mistake. He looked at Luffy's eyes. Seriously, those eyes could make someone destroy the world for him. Zoro's biggest weakness was _those_ kind of puppy eyes. They were his worst enemy. "Fine." Zoro grunted. Luffy cheered and hopped onto Zoro's back. He wrapped his arms around Zoro's neck and closed his eyes. Zoro brought his hands behind his back to support Luffy and kept walking. _I swear, if anyone sees me doing this, I'll be so dead…_ Zoro wore an embarrassed expression on his face. He suddenly felt the presence of something behind him and turned around. A huge Pacifista appeared out of nowhere and locked onto Zoro.

"Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro. 500 million beli." The Pacifista's mouth opened and a beam started charging. Zoro couldn't grab his swords, or he would drop Luffy. As the beam shot, Zoro evaded it by jumping to the side. He gently place an unconscious Luffy on the ground and took out two of his swords.

"Nitoryu…" Zoro moved at incredible speeds and his swords clashed with the Pacifista. Zoro's eyes widened as he notice it didn't cut the thing at all. He jumped back. "Seriously?" He took out his Wado Ichimongi and placed it in his mouth. "Santoryu…" He rushed towards the Pacifista. "Oni Giri!" It didn't cut. "You've got to be shitting me," Zoro growled. He's done this many times on the past. Why doesn't it work now? What was this Pacifista made of?

"Diable Jambe!" The Pacifista had been kicked right in the neck and Sanji jumped back. "Shitty thing…" The cook muttered.

"Oi." Zoro muttered. "Where did you come from?

"I should be the one asking you that, shitty Marimo." Sanji replied. "I just found this stupid thing and thought about beating it up."

"Sanji-kun." A voice said. "Didn't you find him?"

"Hai, Nami-swan~!" Sanji replied with hearts.

"It's a Pacifista!" The voice of Chopper squealed.

"Why haven't you taken care of it yet?" Nami asked. "It's just a Pacifista."

Zoro snorted. "No dip. But, this one's different. I couldn't cut it, and ero-cook over there couldn't kick it."

"Strange." Nami pulled out her Clima-tact. A thunder-cloud appeared above the Pacifista. "Thunder Bolt Tempo!" The wave of lightning shocked the Pacifista, but nothing happened. "What's going on here?"

"It might be designed to take all of our attacks." Chopper mused. "Which means, we need to try extra hard to take it down."

The Pacifista turned to the sleeping form of Luffy and scanned him. "Mugiwara no Luffy. 300 million beli."

"What?" Sanji, Zoro, Nami, and Chopper looked over to Luffy. The Pacifista fired. "Luffy!"

Zoro quickly yanked the child off the ground and tossed him away. Zoro jump out of the beam's way. Luffy let out a yelp of pain and woke up.

"Ow." He held his shoulder and blinked a few times to clear his vision. His eyes widened. _Kuma._ That's the name that came to mind. The disappearing. The helplessness. Luffy held his head. _No. Stop. Go away._ He could feel his throat tighten painfully and he stared that the massive tyrant. He could feel his chest tighten and he looked at the group of four that was in front of him. Zoro, Chopper, Nami, and Sanji. 'Kuma' charged another beam in his mouth and aimed for Luffy. Luffy was too petrified to move. He was frozen. Was this the end?

_...ar ...cond…_

It was that voice again. What was it saying?

_Gear… cond..._

Gear Second? Was that it?

_Gear Second…_

What was that? Before he could do anything, his mouth moved to speak, and he fell into darkness.

"Gear Second."

* * *

Have you ever been in a situation where you were so shocked or dumbfound that you couldn't move and the only noises you made were cracks. That was exactly how Zoro, Chopper, Nami, and Sanji were like now. They're eyes must have played tricks on them, because they were sure that Luffy had gone red and stream radiated from him skin. It was almost like… it was almost like…

_Luffy…_

"You…" Luffy said in a calm, yet dark tone. His frozen body started to stand up. "Don't you EVER try to hurt my nakama!" He finished in a shout. "Gomu Gomu no…" He suddenly appeared in front of the Pacifista. "Jet Pistol!"

Right now, they were on the edge of a mental break down. The Pacifista was knocked into the ground, creating a small crater. The Pacifista started to spark and exploded. The dust cleared out and Luffy turned to them smiling. "Are you guys okay…" He fell.

Chopper ran over to inspect him. He was still shocked, but this wasn't the time. He had a patient to take care of. Luffy was breathing very hard. The redness in his skin was gone and there was no steam. Chopper checked his pulse. It was faster than a usual one. He didn't have the right equipment right now. He needed to find the Sunny.

"Zoro! Nami! Sanji!" Chopper called over. "We need to get him to the Sunny! Now!" Nami was still gaping at what just happened, but nodded slowly. Zoro slid his swords back into their sheaths. Chopper transformed into Walk Point and carried Luffy on his back. "Let's go." Chopper started in the direction of the Sunny and the others followed. They're minds overflowed with questions. But, one stood out the most.

_Luffy… Who is he?_

* * *

**It's short, I know! Please don't kill me! I'll be out with a long chapter next time. I just felt like I needed to get this out for you guys. Well, how was it? Before you asked questions about the "Gear Second" I will cover that next chapter! It might be confusing right now! If I saw that, I would be like, "What the hell…?" Congrats if you're not like me. I admire you.**

**The Pacifista is designed to take all the Strawhat's damage, correct? Why didn't it take Luffy's. That's because Luffy's "dead". They felt no need to make the Pacifista immune to rubber, cause Luffy's dead. So, that's why "Luffy" could take it out. Yeah~~**

**Otaku-chan: XD LOL!**

**Keirra: You're welcome! I wanted to write something like that anyway, you everyone read my mind. Lol. I wish I could draw something like that too.**

**Pinkus-pyon: Yeah. Here's the next chapter. I hope you liked it.**

**TrafaglarLawXKikoku: Yeah, he went to do some search himself this time. **

**Pugslover: You reviews are short and cute. I like them :D**

**Anonymous: Thx! Ace is coming soon! Big brother to the rescue! Lol.**

**Ic251: Maybe.**

**Geust: That would make a great bonus :D Thx for the idea!**

**WingsofaBelle: Thx! I loved that scene. Acey was embarrassed. AWW! We all know Whitebeard Pirates are protective as hell and can rage a war for one person. The Strawhats are willing shoot a Government Flag, declare world war, and yell, "IT'LL BE FUN!" right after it. So, there **_**might **_**be a battle XD **_**Might…**_

**Lily Tiger Ellyessa: Did you like the update?**

**Valeria Aurelia: Glad you thought is was funny! I just thought of it and thought it would be hilarious. The feels, right? Lol. Here's a tissue. Yeah, hard times. The Strawhats want Lu, Whitebeard Pirates want Lu. Tough times indeed. **

**Gianti-Faith: Chiasa's demon mode is worse than mine. Which says A LOT, cause when I'm in demon mode, most people try to stay away, literally in fear for their lives. I pity Ace too. Well, at least Chiasa's threats are somewhat less harsh than me… Especially with boys… Ace, man. Be thankful Chiasa isn't me. Lol. Anyway, hope you liked the update. **

**Kanji855: Here's a tissue. Don't worry, you're not the only one. **


	11. Special Chapter: Aftermath

**WE'RE AT THE 100 REVIEW MARK, BABY! WOOHOOOOOOOO! *pant pant* Well, I never thought I would get this far guys! Seriously, when I started this thing, I never thought I would get here. I actually had pretty low expectations for this story (it's bad for a writer to be like that, I know.) But, you guys are just AWESOME! So, I actually got here! THX GUYS!**

**So, I whipped up a little special for you guys to thank you for the support. I've never gotten this much love for a story ever. So thx~**

**This is after Ace left from telling the Strawhats about Luffy, and how they dealt with it.**

**NOTICE: Also, none of this is supposed to be seen as romance! Just Nakamaship and fluff. I repeat! No romance! Okay.**

* * *

**Aftermath**

* * *

**Zoro**

Zoro sighed and sat in the Crow's Nest of the Thousand Sunny. He looked at his Wado Ichimongi.

_"My dream is to become the greatest swordsman..."_

He made a promise to him.

_"I'LL NEVER LOSE AGAIN! YOU GOT A PROBLEM? PIRATE KING?"_

_"Shishishi. Nope!"_

He was ready to give his life for him.

_"If I can't help Luffy become Pirate King, then my ambition means nothing!"_

His best friend.

_"Luffy, what are you doing? I'm training."_

His captain.

_"Luffy is the man who will be King of the Pirates..."_

Was dead.

Zoro really thought it was bullshit. When that ghost lady with pink hair had showed him the paper, he really called it bullshit. There was no way in hell, that his captain would die now. Luffy was going to be Pirate King. He wouldn't die before he accomplished his goal. His dream. Bullshit. But damn, Luffy really looked dead in the photo. There was a gaping hole in his captain's chest and blood spattered the ground. Despite that all, Luffy wore a genuine smile that could shatter someone's heart.

Zoro looked at his hands. He felt the hot tears ready to fall. He wiped them away viciously with his arm. Zoro ran his hand through his cropped moss hair. He had sworn to Luffy, at the tip of his sword, that he would never lose again. Never. Even if it was his grief, he wouldn't lose. He grabbed his huge training weight and placed it in his mouth. He grabbed the other one and stood up. He swung the weight down. Never lose. He had to become stronger. Stronger and stronger. More, and more, and more, and more, and more, and more. And, 100 times more than that. He was never gonna lose. Zoro smirked through biting his training weight. Never going to lose.

Ever.

**Nami**

Nami wiped her eyes and let out a shaky breath. Her captain. Her captain was gone. Nami could still remember the time Luffy had fallen from the sky and saved her from being captured by Buggy. Nami chuckled sadly. An angel that had fallen from the sky. And he had found his way into her life. She still remembered when he fought Kuro and had been pissed because of how Kuro treated his crew. This was where felt something turn in her life. When Nami had caught Luffy from falling, he told her that nakama shouldn't kill. She felt... Guilty. She felt guilty of how she had categorized Luffy before even knowing him. She felt guilty of how she had earned the trust of this great man just to throw it away later on. She felt guilty. She never felt guilty for a pirate before. Nami remember of how Luffy had gone after her, even when she declared she killed Usopp. He trusted her enough to believe she was lying. She felt guilty, once again. Guilty that she had lied to this man who she knew would do anything for a friend. Guilty that she had made Luffy feel guilty of these happenings instead, even though Nami knew it was hers. She remembered when had placed his straw hat, his treasure, on her head and shouted that he would help her. She remembered the fight with Arlong. She remembered how Luffy had punched the fishman straight through a wall and how Luffy had destroyed the room that she felt imprisoned in. She remembered when Arlong Park collapsed and Luffy a raised from the rubble and yelled, "NAMI! YOU'RE MY NAKAMA!" It was the happiest day of her life. Nami placed her pen on her piece of paper and drew. She remembered how they had enter the Grand Line, from Reverse Mountain. The excitement that her dream would finally come true here. Nami gripped her pen harder. Nami had prepared a box of her tangerines for Luffy to have after they got back together. He's always wanted to taste one, so she thought she would pick some of the best. Now, that box just sat at the corner of the room. Nami looked down at her drawing. It was Luffy. He was smiling wide and his straw hat sat on his head. Nami broke down into tears. Luffy was gone. Luffy was dead. He wasn't coming back again. Luffy had given her a reason to keep walking. But, now he wasn't there.

"_Nami is my navigator!"_

Nami's grip on her pen weakened. She was the navigator. She was Luffy's navigator. She couldn't stop now. Not when Luffy had given so much for her. If she gave up, it would be a punch to his face. She had to be strong. After all,

She was _Luffy's_ navigator.

**Usopp**

Usopp sat in his workshop. He stared blankly at nothing. Luffy was gone. No more tag. No more games. No more stories. No more. No more of his laughs and smiles. No more of his goofiness. It was all gone. Luffy was gone. He stared blankly at the Slingshot, Kabuto. He remembered Water 7, where Luffy and him had a dual. He remembered how Luffy had forgiven him and welcomed him back. For that, Luffy had won his respect. He wanted to stay on Luffy's ship and continue his journey.

"_...It's not like this place is hell or anything."_

He sighed as he looked back on Luffy's words to him. He rubbed his eyes and replaced them with determination. This place wasn't hell. There was no reason to quit. Cause he could still see the sky. He could still the sea. This place wasn't hell. So, he wasn't going down. Luffy would always get back up.

He could too.

**Sanji**

Sanji sat in the kitchen. He pulled out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth. He lit the cigarette with his lighter. He looked at the fridge.

"_Luffy, if you want food, I'll give it to you. You don't have to raid the kitchen!"_

He took the cigarette out of his mouth and blew out smoke. He remembered his dream. To find the All Blue. If Luffy hadn't come around, he would probably still be at Baratie. He wouldn't have come this far.

"_Sanji! FOOD!"_

Sanji let out a huff. That idiot. He's was always doing things that would get himself killed. He was crazy. Maybe that's why He followed him though. His dream was to find the All Blue. Their dreams were crazy. Yet, he made them believe that those dreams would come true. Sanji stared at his cigarette. His dream was to find the All Blue. No, it _is_ to find the All Blue. That rubber idiot would come back down from the sky and kick his ass if he quit. He wasn't going to stop. They were the Strawhats. They feed off excitement. They needed to keep running or they would break apart. Sanji got up.

He felt like cooking.

**Chopper**

Chopper wiped his tears away, only to be replaced by more tears. He really wanted Luffy back. Luffy was one of the first people who acknowledged him. Before, everyone saw him as a monster. Luffy saw him as his doctor. His _friend_. He felt like he belonged. He wanted Luffy back.

"_Shut up! LET'S GO!"_

Chopper wiped his tears away again. He reached out for a picture of him, Luffy, and Usopp messing around in the ship. He smiled. Let's go. Let's go on adventures. Luffy was still with him. 'Cause people don't die when they've been shot by a pistol. People don't die when they have an incurable disease. _People don't die_ when they've eaten poisonous mushrooms. People die when they are forgotten.

Chopper will never forget Luffy.

**Robin**

Robin read her book in utter silence. It was The Rainbow Mist. The first book Luffy had been interested in. The irony of this was terrible. Robin couldn't focus on the book anymore, yet she kept reading. She read and remembered her captain and all the things he's done for her. He went after her, even when she had declared that they would never meet again. He barged into Enies Lobby and shot a government flag for her. He declared war on the entire world for her. He defeated Rob Lucci for her. He did so much for her.

"_TELL ME YOU WANT TO LIVE!"_

"_I WANT TO LIVE! TAKE ME OUT TO THE SEA WITH YOU!"_

Robin sighed and closed her book, looking out the ocean. Luffy did everything for her, so she could live. She _would_ live. It's the least she could do for him, now.

She was going to live for him.

**Franky**

Franky didn't feel super now. That man was dead. Luffy was dead. There was nothing he could do about it. That man was the reason he joined the Strawhats. Why he built the Sunny.

"_We can't go yet. We haven't named the ship yet…"_

He started his dream right there.

"_I just thought of an awesome name for it! The Bear! The Polar Bear Lion!"_

"_That's such a weird name for a ship!"_

He started sailing the Thousand Sunny around the world that day. His dream ship. All because Luffy had showed up. If he hadn't, Franky would still be stuck at Water 7.

"_Then, Tiger Wolf Lion!"_

He smirked a bit. Why did he choose to follow that man? Maybe it because he felt like Luffy had potential in him. Or, maybe it was just because they were all crazy. Crazy people with crazy dreams. But, even after such a short time, this crew was family. Yes, a crazy, psychotic family. But, it was still a family. They had to keep the family together.

Family was everything, and nothing can replace them.

**Brook**

Brook started humming.

_Yohohoho yohohoho~ Yohohoho yohohoho~_

He was the man he swore his life to. He changed Brook's life and he changed the world. He would have never wanted to be seen as a hero, but he was Brook's hero. That man saved him.

"_Join my crew."_

"_Yeah, okay."_

He expected him just like that. No question. No hesitation. Just asked. For 50 years, he had been alone. Drifting in the dark waters and singing to himself. He was utterly alone. When he heard, "Join my crew." it was the best moment of him life. He accepted right away. When he had told his captain that his shadow was stolen, he immediately agreed to get it back. No question. No hesitation. He defeated Gecko Moriah and got it back. When he was playing the piano for the party, he felt so happy to be alive, he cried. Then he asked if he could join the crew. Luffy said, "Yeah, you can." The rest of the crew was horrified, but Brook was still happy. Luffy had saved him. But, that man was dead. He wasn't like Brook. He couldn't come back as a skeleton and keep living. He was gone. But, Brook still swore his loyalty to him. Which meant he was going to stay with the crew and grow strong. He would protect them, for his captain and himself. He wouldn't let the same thing that happened to his old crew happen to this one. He would protect them with his life.

Oh, but he was already dead. Yohohohoho!

* * *

**Hope you liked the special! Again, thx guys! You guys are awesome!**

**Responses:**

**Koko4eva: I'll get to that next chapter, which is coming soon!**

**Miki: I'll get to that real soon! Ur welcome!**

**TrafalgarLawxKikoku: Yeah. Considering the last time he went off, I wouldn't be surprised if Marco was acting like a worried mother (or Mother Hen XD).**

**Otaku-chan: Aw, you have to wait a bit. I might update tomorrow or something XD But, I hope you enjoyed the special!**

**Keirra: Yeah, I would have fainted or something if a **_**7-year-old**_ **took out a Pacifista! Yeah, Ace kinda doesn't know where he's going. Okay, okay. He has no idea, but I'll get to that.**

**qwertypous: I'll update the next chapter soon!**

**Luffy's sister: No need to worry Lu's sis! I'll figure it out XD**

**pinkus-pyon: I'll get to the next chapter soon! You'll see more!**

**Pugslover: Ah, we'll get to that. Marco! Don't worry! I won't kill Ace, **_**yoi**_**!**

**DianaLea: I'll get to the update soon! **

**Myo Haneul: Thank you! Thank you! It's great to be back! Ah, my laptop! I've missed you! *hugs* Anyway, that question's a secret! **

**kanji855: I'll update soon! Hope you liked the special!**

**MaskedPyro: Yeah, last time Ace went off, he almost got executed, so Marco is very worried. MOTHER HEN! Lol. I'll update later!**

**Valeria Aurelia: Lol. Don't die of excitement, kay? Luffy is getting there! I'll try to update soon! Ur welcome! And congrats on being the 100TH REVIEWER! **

**Kazumi Rin: We already went through this, so I hope I cleared that up :D**


	12. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! Not much to say here, so here we go!**

**Oh, and I made a story called Smile. Check it out.**

* * *

"This is deeply troubling…" Robin murmured. All the Strawhats nodded. They were sitting in the galley, at the dinner table. They didn't want to believe what the other four were saying. Heck, Sanji, Chopper, Nami, and Zoro didn't want to believe what can out of their mouths. And, they were there and saw it. "The only way possible for Luffy to use a Gear Second is for his body to be rubber."

Chopper nodded. "The heart rate Gear Second reaches is far beyond normal human capabilities. Only the Gomu Gomu no Mi can allow this technique." He explained. "Although, Luffy was in critical condition until an hour ago. His heart rate was still fast. Not as fast as Gear Second allows, but still extremely fast. He still has a temperature from over exhilarating his body. I can't calculate how long it will take for Luffy to wake. It will depend on his progress."

Nami dipped her head. "We can always trust your skills, Chopper."

"Just because you praise me doesn't make me happy, you asshole!" Chopper blushed and started dancing in his chair, giggling.

"But, one thing really got me." Zoro said. "It wasn't the Pacifista being immune to us. It's that it recognized Luffy as our Luffy."

"Really?" Franky asked.

Zoro nodded. "It said 'Mugiwara no Luffy. 300 million beli'." Nami, Sanji, and Chopper nodded. The crew went silent.

"Just who is Luffy anyway?" Nami asked, more so to herself. "All we know is that he's a kid from Whitebeard's ship. He also has the same name as our captain, and managed to pull off a Gear Second without a devil fruit. It seems pretty far-fetched to me."

"He also used Luffy's attack." Sanji said. "The Gomu Gomu no Jet Pistol. I'm pretty sure that he stretched."

"I checked him. He has no sign of rubber abilities and he certainly can't stretch." Chopper added. "I can't think of any logical answer to this."

"I guess the only way for us to find answers," Zoro cut in. "Is to wait for him to wake up." That would take a while.

If he woke up at all.

* * *

Ace sighed. He was currently in a town, trying to find some restaurant somewhere. He really should have asked which ship Luffy was on. Curse his brain, for not thinking of it. It would have spared him and hour of ass whooping too. Not to mention this "Finding Luffy" thing would be so much easier. Ace would actually know where he was going. Maybe he could try finding the Strawhats. They might have an idea. It wasn't that great of a chance though. The Strawhats were pretty hard to track now, Nami's skills being a lot better than before. He'll have to do some real searching to find them.

"Puru puru puru…" His den den mushi started to ring.

"Hello?" Ace answered.

"Hey, It's Marco, yoi." Marco said.

"Marco~" Ace whined "I'm fine! It's only been like… 5 hours or something!"

"6." Marco corrected. "And, I was just checking to make sure you didn't get yourself in any trouble, yoi"

"I'm fine~" Ace insisted. "I don't need to be babied! I'm not 7!"

"Yes, yes, Ace. We all know what happened the last time you went off on your own, yoi. I don't want to be the one dragging your dead ass back to the Moby Dick." Marco replied.

Ace pouted. "This time is different!" He argued.

"Right…" The den den mushi rolled its eyes. "Just don't get yourself captured, yoi." He hung up.

Ace grumbled under his breath. Marco could be such an ass sometime! He kept muttering to himself as he stepped into a restaurant.

* * *

Chopper placed a wet cloth over Luffy's head. The boy's face was slightly flushed and he had a fever. Chopper put the stethoscope in his ears and placed the end on Luffy's chest. His heart beat was slowly starting to go back to normal speeds. Chopper huffed and went over to his desk to work of some medicine for Luffy. Luffy's healing process was getting slow. It started to worry Chopper. He gave his medicine a hard look. Luffy was going to be just fine. Chopper's dream was to cure all diseases. He would accomplish that goal, which meant, Luffy was going to be fine.

* * *

"Hey, Ossan." Ace said. He was in the middle of town at the restaurant now. "Have the Strawhat Pirates come around here yet?"

"The Strawhats?" The man asked. "I don't think so, no one spotted them anywhere near the dock."

"Oh." Ace said, in disappointment. "Do you have any idea where they might be?"

"Don't you read the newspaper, son?" The man asked. "The marines think they're staying in the less dangerous waters of the New World for some reason."

"Oh, really…" Ace took another bite out of his food. "That's good to know." Maybe… Just maybe… Before he could finish his thoughts, his head plopped into his food and he started snoring.

"Oi! Don't sleep in your food, you brat!"

* * *

Nami sat in a chair on the grassy lawn of the Sunny. The news coo had just came around with the morning paper in the afternoon. Well, Nami couldn't really get angry, knowing the New World. She was happy that the bird even showed up at all today. Nami groaned as she looked at the news. "The marines are getting too desperate…"

**Strawhat Pirates Whereabouts!**

"They already figured we were staying in safer waters…" She mumbled. "And, our bounties were raised because of what happened to that Marine base, two weeks ago…" She held the bounty posters in her hand.

**Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro: 550,000,000 beli**

**Cat Burglar Nami: 240,000,000 beli**

**Black Leg Sanji: 535,000,000 beli**

**Sniper King Usopp: 300,000,000 beli**

**Cotten Candy Lover Chopper: 70 beli**

**Nico Robin: 450,000,000 beli**

**Franky: 440,000,000 beli**

**Humming Brook: 400,000,000**

Nami sighed in annoyance. Now that the Marines figured they were in the less harsh waters, they'll be bounty hunters and marines and who knows what after them!

"Is there something troubling you, Navigator-san?" Robin asked, setting a chair down, next to Nami.

"It nothing, Robin." Nami smiled. "It's just that, the marines are on to us. They raised our bounties from that Marine base accident. They also found that we were treading in safer waters."

"I see." Robin said, sitting down and opening her book. "Then, we must keep our guard up."

"Yeah." Nami sighed. "We'd better keep on the move, so we don't run into some trouble."

Robin nodded. "Especially with a child on our ship, we can't afford any run ins."

Nami stood up, with the news paper and posters in her hand. "We need to have a meeting."

* * *

"So they're staying in safer seas…" Ace flipped through his newspaper. It's a slim chance they might know where Luffy is, but I have to take it. He had a feeling in his gut that they might know. He looked at they're bounty posters. "High bounties in safer seas. If I know Nami, she'll keep them on the move to avoid trouble…" His eyes turned more serious as he stared at the paper. This is going to be tough.

* * *

"Guys! Listen up!" Nami slammed the news paper and posters onto the table. "We have some trouble on our hands." She shoved the news paper into their faces. "Ever since we had Luffy on our ship, we've stuck to safer waters. The marines have figured out our plan somehow. And, we have raised bounties from that Marine Base accident a few weeks ago." Sanji gagged a bit from seeing his poster. "We need to lay low and keep on the move if we don't want any trouble. There's going to be annoying bounty hunters and marines everywhere, and I don't want to deal with them!"

"70 beli…" Chopper stared at his poster. He was devastated about how low his bounty still was.

"My bounty is still lower than Marimo!?" Sanji snatched his poster off the table.

"Try as hard as you want, ero-cook! But, you'll never be as good as me!" Zoro smirked.

"You wanna say that again, shitty swordsman!?" Sanji challenged, standing up.

Zoro had a hand on his Wado Ichimonji and stood up too. "You wanna fight, dartboard brow?"

"Oh, wow!" Usopp exclaimed. "My bounty is so high!"

"Super!" Franky looked at his bounty. "My bounty is huge!"

"Yohohohoho!" Brook looked at his bounty. "I can't believe my eyes! Wait, I don't have any eyes! Yohohohoho!"

Robin chuckled. "I believe my bounty got a high increase as well."

Nami sighed. "That's not the point! We have a child on our ship! We can afford for anything to go wrong! Which means, when we stop at any island that has marines or bounty hunters, we get what we need and go!" Nami turned to Zoro. "Which means no getting lost and causing a ruckus." She turned to Sanji. "No getting distracted by women."

Zoro snorted. "Fine, have it your way, weather witch."

"Nami-swan isn't a witch!" Sanji retorted.

"Enough!" Nami slammed her palms into the table. "Is everything clear?"

"Yeah." All the Strawhats said.

Nami sat back down in her chair. "Okay, you can leave now."

* * *

"Do you think it was a good idea to let him go off on his own?" Thatch asked. "We all know what happened last time…"

"I know," Marco said. "But, it's probably the best choice we have, yoi."

"How?" Thatch asked.

"You noticed it, Thatch." Marco said. "Those two have a connection, yoi."

Thatch chuckled, "I guess you're right, Marco."

"Ace will find him, yoi." Marco said.

* * *

"Ah! This is so frustrating!" Ace shouted into the ocean. "Where is he, anyway?!" He let out a sigh. "Why does he have to be so hard to find?" He took another look at the newspaper and ruffled his hair. "Why do those damn Marines have to make it so hard to do everything!?"

* * *

**I promised you a longer update, but, I accomplished my goal in this chapter already, so yeah... Don't kill me.**

** So, you see the after affects on Luffy's body after he borrowed some of the other Luffy's strength. Luffy's little child body can't handle Gear Second so, he's kinda in some trouble. Kinda.**

**ACE-NII TO THE RESCUE! WOOHOO! Except, he's kinda stressing out now. Lol. I had a daydream that Ace was coming after me… SORRY ACE! IT'S THE PLOTS FAULT! DON'T KILL ME!**

**Responses:**

**FindingThatDamnedOnePiece: *hands you tissue* Here's the update you've been waiting for! Did you like it? I'll answer your questions later in the story.**

**sakura240: THX!**

**Pugslover: I did it for the Skull Joke! Lol.**

**WingsofaBelle: I know right? It's confusing. It'll all be explained in time my friend. All explained in time… XD**

**Keirra: Thx a lot. I like the Skull Joke too. Brook is just… awesome, ya' know?**

**GUEST: Update!**

**justaCupcake: *hands you tissue***

**Nurofen: I feed of sorrow XD I am the demon…**

**TrafalgarLawxKikoku: I hope Ace doesn't BBQ their ship too. SUNNY! DON'T BURN! DON'T TURN OUT LIKE MERRY!**

**Otaku-chan: Lol. Hope it didn't hurt TOO much.**

**kanji855: Thx!**

**phonenix: It depends on your definition of sad.**

**mangageek24: Why thank you. I feel honored.**


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